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Canada’s largest cities are overspending three times faster than their populations are growing, says a new report.

In Big City Spenders released Wednesday, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) says Canada’s three largest cities — Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver — are headed for financial crisis if they continue to shell out money they don’t have.

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“Municipalities don’t seem to want to face up to this conversation that I think it’s really important we have,” said Laura Jones, executive vice-president of the association representing small and medium-sized businesses.

“Our report shows the real problem is overspending.”

Our report shows the real problem is overspending

“It’s hard not to have a moment of white rage,” she added.

“[Y]ou’ve got taxpayers who are worried about saving for their retirement, worried about saving for their kids’ education. Meanwhile, if municipalities across Canada had kept their spending more reasonable, a family of four would have an additional $10,000 they could have socked away.”