Lessons for Erin O’Toole – Canadians care about the deficit, but they care about COVID impact more

by David Korzinski | September 4, 2020 10:28 am

By Shachi Kurl, Executive Director

Erin O’Toole says he’ll aim to “erase” Canada’s budget deficit in 10 years.

Does anyone care?

Of course, that’s rather a cheeky question. Indeed, 23 per cent of Canadian adults, in a recent Angus Reid Institute[1] survey, identify government spending and the deficit as top issues facing the country. That represents well more than six million people. So yes, a lot of people care.

But these, as we all know, are such different times. And the politics of deficit reduction, just like everything else, are different too.

Context is a delicious thing. The deficit may be the main preoccupation of millions of Canadians, but the COVID-19 pandemic occupies the frontal lobes[2] of millions more. Further, our concern over deficit spending has ebbed and flowed over the years and finds itself in a most curious place today.

For the rest of this piece, please view it on the Ottawa Citizen’s site[3] where it was initially published.

Image credit –  Erin O’Toole/Flickr

Source URL: https://angusreid.org/lessons-for-erin-otoole-canadians-care-about-the-deficit-but-they-care-about-covid-impact-more/

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