Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will unveil a fiscal stimulus package of as much as $30 billion on Wednesday in a bid to shield Canada’s economy from tumbling into a recession.

The government will release details of a package that will be in the range of stimulus proposed by economists of at least one per cent of economic output, a person familiar with the plan said. In his second televised address from outside his residence in as many days Tuesday, Trudeau said the package will include economic support for individual Canadians and businesses affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

“We have the ability to invest right away to help Canadians,” Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa.

The Bank of Nova Scotia recommended last week the federal government would need to produce at least C$20 billion in stimulus spending this year in order to stave off a recession, but things have deteriorated since, forcing the government to shut the nation’s borders to everyone except Americans. In a report Tuesday, the Toronto-based lender said it expects C$30 billion in spending, plus or minus C$5 billion.

Other news agencies are reporting similar figures. The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. said the government will spend more than C$25 billion, with the Globe and Mail newspaper reporting a short while later that the tally could reach nearly C$30 billion and Reuters floating a C$27 billion figure.

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Such amounts still pale in comparison to what is being proposed in the U.S., where President Donald Trump’s administration is discussing a plan that could amount to as much as $1.2 trillion in spending on coronavirus-related economic stimulus. An equivalent package for Canada would be well above $100 billion.

Canada’s planned fiscal stimulus program will likely inject cash into businesses to keep employees on the payroll even if they aren’t working, as well as bolstering government benefits and unemployment programs, Trudeau said earlier Tuesday in a telephone interview with 680 News radio.

At his press conference, he also said to expect another announcement later this week regarding leniency in filing and paying income taxes. Tax files are usually due at the end of April, but Quebec announced Tuesday it would delay provincial deadlines and payments.

So far, the Canadian government has announced $1 billion in funding, along with C$10 billion in new credit to backstop businesses. It also announced plans to purchase up to $50 billion in mortgages to free up banks to continue lending. But the country has yet to deliver a major stimulus plan that would soften the blow of a swift drop in demand.

$12 Oil

In addition to the coronavirus public-health crisis, Canada’s economy is reeling from the collapse of oil prices sparked by Russia and Saudi Arabia’s decision to abandon OPEC+ talks. The price of Western Canadian Select, the main grade of Alberta crude, is now hovering around a record low of about $12 a barrel as delays to maintenance push more oil into the market at the worst possible time.

The Bank of Canada has cut interest rates by a full percentage over the past two weeks and moved aggressively to keep money flowing through credit markets. It also explained Tuesday why it decided to starting moving in tandem with Trudeau’s government and other agencies. The country’s banking regulator is loosening capital requirements to free up $300 billion of lending capacity, while the housing agency is buying billions in mortgages.

Despite all this, Canada’s fiscal jolt will be a fraction of what’s being rolled out in the U.S. or New Zealand, which unveiled spending equivalent to four per cent of its total output to counter the virus. “Those economies may be hit harder by higher COVID-19 case counts, but the OPEC+ shock hits Canada harder,” Scotiabank economist Derek Holt said in a note to clients Tuesday evening.