Article content continued

With the provincial economy booming under the Liberals, according to Sousa, he asked Ontarians to “imagine what we can do now … now that we’re in a stronger position.”

He said with the Wynne government achieving a balanced budget in 2017-18 for the first time in a decade, and with two more to come, the Liberals now had the financial freedom to slash hydro rates by 25% (by taking on more debt), give 210,000 college and university students free tuition, provide free prescription drugs to Ontarians under 25 and to launch “the greatest infrastructure investment in our province’s history” for “roads … public transportation … hospitals and schools.”

Photo by Craig Robertson/Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network

Almost seven months later, on Nov. 14, 2017, Sousa assured Ontarians in his fall economic statement that: “The government is continuing to project a balanced budget in 2017–18 and ongoing balance in 2018–19 and 2019–20, unchanged from the 2017 budget forecast.”

But that was then and this is now.

On March 7, less than four months later, in a speech to the Economic Club of Canada, Sousa announced that in the Wynne government’s upcoming March 28 budget, “in order to invest more in hospitals, mental health, longterm care and child care … Ontario is choosing to run a deficit” of less than 1% of Gross Domestic Product.

While Sousa refused to give a specific number, that means a deficit of up to almost $8 billion for the coming year.

Heaven only knows what will happen in the years after that if Wynne is re-elected June 7.