Chrystia Freeland to present federal budget on April 16

Canadians will get a look at the state of federal finances when Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland tables her budget next month.

The government has been trying to rein in spending after years of big COVID-era budget deficits that more than doubled the national debt to roughly $1.2 trillion — a debtload that is costing Ottawa tens of billions of dollars a year to finance in an era of higher interest rates.

Freeland's fall economic statement projected a budget deficit of $38.4 billion for the upcoming 2024-25 fiscal year. That number could move higher — or lower — depending on how the government has planned for the penultimate budget of its mandate.

The budget will give Canadians some insight into the government's priorities in what could be one of the last spending documents before an expected 2025 election.

The NDP has agreed to prop up the Liberals until next year and a national vote could follow after the supply-and-confidence agreement between the two parties comes to an end.

Freeland has been involved in months of formal pre-budget consultations with interested parties who are jockeying to get more federal cash.

While it has pushed to cut spending — the main estimates tabled last week suggest the government wants to «refocus» or divert spending worth about $4.8 billion a year by 2026-27 and beyond — it's likely the government will reveal some new funding for its priority files.

The government has tried to tackle the housing supply crunch with a series of initiatives, including the housing accelerator fund that sends extra money to cities that change their municipal planning laws to allow for more homes to be built.

The government also lifted the federal sales tax on new rental construction, a costly measure that some