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A Liberal government would rely on departmental spending cuts and a crackdown on tax cheats to return to a balanced budget during the final year of a four-year mandate, after racking up billions of dollars in additional federal debt.

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau has blasted the Conservatives and NDP throughout the federal election campaign for promising to keep the budget balanced at all costs. He says the only way to fulfil that promise is with deep cuts to programs and services.

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Trudeau has instead said he would run “modest” deficits so a Liberal government could invest billions of new dollars in public transit, sewers and affordable housing, and other infrastructure to grow the economy and create jobs.

The Liberals’ fiscal plan, released Saturday, shows a Liberal government proposing to run deficits of $9.8 billion and $9.5 billion in its first two years, and $5.7 billion in 2018-19, before producing a slim $1-billion surplus in time for an election in 2019-20.