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“We’re looking very, very hard at what needs to be done,” Trudeau told reporters Monday afternoon. “We’ve always said that being fiscally responsible while creating growth is at the heart of what the Liberal Party is, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”

Last week Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Chief Economist Avery Shenfeld said a deficit as deep as $30 billion was needed to revive growth, and this week former Bank of Canada Governor David Dodge urged Trudeau to ramp up fiscal stimulus to take the pressure off monetary policy.

Few Details

Trudeau and his cabinet spent Monday meeting in New Brunswick and emerged with few new details on what, if anything, his government will do to respond to sharp declines in the value of Canada’s currency and the price of oil.

Outside the oil-patch, the federal government is biding its time. It wants to avoid overreacting as it assesses the impact of the falling dollar and determines whether growth will rebound in the manufacturing provinces of Ontario and Quebec, one official said.

Infrastructure Minister Amarjeet Sohi — who represents an Alberta district — said cabinet is considering how to quickly allocate a total of $10 billion in infrastructure cash approved by the previous government. While the federal government typically splits major project costs with provinces and municipalities, Trudeau’s team is considering paying a larger share for projects they deem worthwhile, Sohi said in New Brunswick.

Finance Minister Bill Morneau said Monday morning he was still determining his spending plans but that the government would prioritize infrastructure that boosts “the long-run productive capacity of the country.”

Trudeau’s cabinet retreat concludes Tuesday, when he’s due to travel with Morneau and others to Davos for the World Economic Forum. Canada’s parliament is due to resume Jan. 25, with a budget typically expected in March.

Bloomberg News