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As an economic document, the 2018 federal budget will be forgotten before the end of February, unless you are a scientist or a smoker (the former got more government grants, paid for, in part, by the latter.)

But as a political platform, it is so cunning you could put ears on it and call it a fox.

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tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or John Ivison: In their third federal budget, Trudeau’s Liberals show their cunning Back to video

After two years of reckless expenditure, Bill Morneau’s difficult third budget has cut the rate of net annual spending increase in half — to 2.4 per cent in the coming year, from 5.9 per cent in the current.

While there is no identified path to budgetary balance, deficits are forecast to fall every year over the next five years, and the ratio of debt in relation to the size of the economy is set to tick gently downward.

The Liberals will be able to enter an election year boasting the economy is strong and growing while the public finances are under control.

At the same time as he has shored up the Liberal-voting constituency that worries about such ephemera as runaway spending and debt repayment, the finance minister has presented a blueprint to appease the Liberals’ bleeding-heart base.