A low point in Kamala Harris’ failed presidential campaign came when she couldn’t articulate what she would have done differently from former president Joe Biden.
That scenario is a landmine threatening to detonate former finance minister Chrystia Freeland’s campaign to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
If Freeland wants credibility as she seeks to become prime minister, she needs to lay out a clear plan to abandon the tax-and-spend approach she took as finance minister.
A huge reason why Trudeau is on his way out the door is because of how badly his government has handled Canada’s finances.
Trudeau has added more debt to Canada’s debt tab than any of his predecessors. He’s added more debt to Canada’s bottom line than all of Trudeau’s predecessors put together.
And Freeland has piled on more debt as finance minister than any other finance minister in Canadian history.
When Freeland resigned, she tried to distance herself from the Trudeau government’s record.
In her resignation letter, Freeland claimed she resigned because she disagreed with Trudeau’s plan to embrace “costly political gimmicks” that she felt the country couldn’t afford.
Facing tariff threats, Freeland argued it was necessary to keep Canada’s “fiscal powder dry.”
But Freeland drove the budget bus until just a few weeks ago. She’s the reason why Canada can’t afford “costly political gimmicks.”
During Freeland’s four-and-a-half years as finance minister, she added more than $350 billion to Canada’s debt tab.
Under her watch, debt interest payments skyrocketed from $20.4 billion to $53.7 billion.
Earth to Freeland: Thanks to your record, there is no fiscal powder to be kept dry.
Some will blame part of Freeland’s debt binge on the pandemic. But even if you look at her record since 2022, it’s a sorry sight.
The federal debt has increased by more than $121 billion since the pandemic. The federal deficit last year, under Freeland’s watch, was nearly double what it was the year before.
Canada’s finances have been getting steadily worse since the pandemic, not better.
The truth is that Freeland jumped off the Titanic only after it was almost underwater.
If Freeland wants to be taken seriously by Canadians who have become infuriated with this government’s fiscal record, she needs to lay out a plan to do two things.
First, she needs to lay out a plan to cut spending and balance the budget. The cuts need to be meaningful and the budget needs to be balanced now, not years from now.
To fix the budget, Freeland needs to lay out a plan to cut the size of the bureaucracy, end corporate welfare, end bonuses at Crown corporations and show leadership from the top by ending perks for politicians.
Second, Freeland needs to pledge not to raise taxes. As finance minister, Freeland was the head cheerleader for capital gains tax hikes, payroll tax hikes, alcohol tax hikes and carbon tax hikes.
Canadians can’t afford any more of the Liberals’ reckless tax hikes.
If Freeland wants voters to take her seriously, she should also lay out a plan to undo the punishing tax hikes she imposed on Canadians during her four-plus years as finance minister.
Freeland may have broken with Trudeau publicly by resigning from cabinet, but she owns a lot of this government’s record when it comes to the state of Canada’s finances.
She can’t expect to be taken seriously by Canadians unless she lays out a clear plan to fix many of her mistakes.
Canadians can be a forgiving people. But forgiveness only comes with a clear plan for change. And Freeland desperately needs one.
Jay Goldberg is Ontario director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation