2003 Canadian federal budget

The Canadian federal budget of 2003 was unveiled on February 18, 2003. It was the first budget issued by Finance Minister John Manley who was given the job in May 2002 replacing Paul Martin. It was also the last budget of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien.

2003 (2003) Budget of the Canadian Federal Government
PresentedFebruary 18, 2003
Parliament37th
PartyLiberal
Finance ministerJohn Manley
Total revenueC$186.2 billion[1]
Total expendituresC$177.1 billion[1]
Program SpendingC$141.4 billion[1]
Debt paymentC$35.8 billion[1]
SurplusC$9.1 billion[1]
DebtC$501.5 billion[1]
 2001
2004 

In the previous fiscal year the Canadian economy had done well, despite the recent recession in the United States. The budget saw another large surplus, which was enhanced by a shift to more stringent accrual accounting announced in the budget.

The bill was largely seen as a departure from the fiscal austerity of the last several years. It had a wide range of new spending initiatives on health care, child care, defence, education, and other social programs. The budget had only limited tax cuts, mostly directed at corporations. The budget set forth a plan of gradual reductions that would see corporate taxes fall well below American levels. The most important was the reduction of the Canadian Capital Tax. Employment Insurance premiums were also cut.

References

  1. Department of Finance Canada (2005). "The Budget Plan 2005" (PDF). 2005 Budget. Department of Finance Canada. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2010-12-06. Retrieved 2009-05-08.
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