Dan Albas: We still don't know how the Liberals will pay for their new spending

Dan Albas is the Conservative Party MP for the riding of Okanagan Lake West—South Kelowna.

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After this week, the House of Commons has just one more scheduled week in session before breaking for summer.

With the Liberals' prorogation of the House of Commons, subsequent leadership race to replace former Liberal Prime Minister (PM) Justin Trudeau, and the election called by his successor PM Mark Carney, the House has experienced very limited sitting time over the past six months.

Now that the House of Commons has resumed, there has been increased activity as the Liberals have introduced several bills—mostly election-related—and announced significant spending promises.

The most significant spending announcement is Canada's commitment to reach NATO's 2% spending target by the end of 2025-2026 fiscal year—five years ahead of schedule. This represents a spending commitment of roughly $9.3 billion for fiscal 2025-26.

Where will this money come from? Some will be creative accounting. As an example, the Canadian Coast Guard, with an annual budget of $2.5 billion, would be funded under the Department of National Defence instead of being funded under the Department of Fisheries and Oceans as is the current case. This also could see the role of the Canadian Coast Guard being expanded or changed.

The source of the remaining funding remains unclear. While the Liberals have stated in the media that they "would not raise taxes," they have acknowledged that "some cuts would be made elsewhere within the federal government."

This situation highlights the critical need for a budget from the Liberal government. Canadians deserve transparency about the source of these funds and deserve to understand the long-term implications of adding billions in new spending—especially when the Liberals have simultaneously promised to "spend less" and reduce annual government spending growth.

Despite the lack of fiscal transparency and details about how this funding will be allocated, Canada will host the G7 Summit next week in Kananaskis, Alberta. President Trump will attend the summit.

As is widely known, he—like his predecessors Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama—has consistently called for Canada to increase its NATO spending contributions. The recent Liberal spending announcement appears strategically timed to address this concern.

My questions for you this week: Do you support increasing Canada's military spending to meet our NATO commitments? And how should we fund this—through borrowing, reducing spending in other areas or by some other means?

Join in on the lively discussion on my Facebook page or you can reach me directly at [email protected] or call my 24/7 toll-free number at 1-800-665-8711.