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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was 24 when the crisis peaked. Perhaps it’s another part of the “massive blind spot” he says he was suffering at the time that prevents him appreciating the dangerous path he’s setting the country on. The Trudeau platform calls for a sharp increase in deficits over the life of its hoped-for second mandate, stretching into the future with no firm end point in mind. According to the costing provided by the Parliamentary Budget Office, the document would add another $94 billion to the debt, on top of the $70 billion the Liberals have run up in their first term. And the numbers could be higher still, because the PBO notes that some of the Liberal planning is hazy, changeable or based on uncertain projections.

Best hold onto your toques

The Trudeau Liberals, remember, ran in 2015 on a pledge to borrow no more than $10 billion a year, returning to balance in its final year: as in, now. It abandoned that pledge almost immediately after gaining power, Finance Minister Bill Morneau proving to be an infinitely pliable keeper of the numbers, until ultimately claiming that as long as the size of the debt keeps falling as a percentage of gross domestic product, everything’s fine. And, assuming that absolutely nothing happens that might upset his finely calculated projections, that ratio would continue to fall over the next four years, by the barest of margins, from 30.9 to 30.2 per cent. In other words, victory! Liberal worthies unveiling the platform Sunday proclaimed the budget plans the epitome of fiscal responsibility. As long as there’s no recession. Or unexpected changes in interest rates. And as long as Donald Trump doesn’t do anything unexpected over the next two to six years to impact the situation, which, of course, could never happen, Trump being the soul of reliability and good sense.