Ottawa’s latest spending plans read like a wish list drawn up with someone else’s credit card. The Parliamentary Budget Officer estimates more than $159 billion will pour into infrastructure projects over the next five years over $30 billion every single year even before factoring in a historic boost to defence spending.
On paper, investing in roads, ports, energy, and housing sounds like smart nation-building. Prime Minister Mark Carney certainly frames it that way. He’s rolled out LNG expansions in B.C., a small modular reactor in Ontario, and mining ventures across the Prairies as the first wave of “major projects,” with more to follow: high-speed rail, carbon capture, even an Arctic corridor. He insists this is about building the “strongest economy in the G7,” especially after U.S. tariffs rattled Canada’s trade relationship.
But here’s the problem: no one really knows how all this money is being tracked. The PBO bluntly says there’s “no timely, consolidated overview of total infrastructure spending.” That means Canadians can’t easily see where their tax dollars go or measure the impact on the federal books. We’re flying blind while Ottawa piles on projects of unprecedented scale.
Meanwhile, Carney has promised austerity in the upcoming November 4 budget without offering details on what will actually be cut. That’s political double-speak: boasting about nation-building while hinting at belt-tightening. Conservatives are already hammering the contradiction, warning that the deficit will double before this fiscal year is even done.
Ambition isn’t bad. Canada needs infrastructure, energy innovation, and housing solutions. But ambition without accountability is reckless. If Ottawa wants to spend like a builder, it must first act like a steward providing transparent reporting, realistic timelines, and a clear plan to balance the books. Otherwise, this “strongest economy in the G7” could end up buried under its own debt before the first high-speed train ever leaves the station.
