Increasing taxes, skyrocketing government debt, expanding regulations, soaring inflation and rising interest rates. You may think we’re describing Canada today, but in fact these were the policy decisions and circumstances that defined Pierre Trudeau’s tenure as prime minister in the 1970s and early 1980s, which eventually culminated in a near crisis. Unfortunately, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is repeating his father’s mistakes.
For starters, the Trudeaus share a proclivity for deficit-financed spending.
With new and expanded programs, Pierre Trudeau increased spending (excluding interest costs and adjusted for inflation) from $4,195 per person in 1967 (the year prior to his first term as prime minister) to $7,474 per person in 1984 when he left office. By spending significantly more than the government collected in revenue, Pierre Trudeau recorded a budget deficit every year excluding a small surplus in 1969-70. Total federal debt (inflation-adjusted) grew from $262 billion in 1967 to $700 billion in 1984—an increase of 167 per cent.
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