David Dodge comments in the Globe and Mail on the constraints the federal government and provinces are facing as they prepare their budgets for 2019. David says the federal government should be mindful of the fact that Ontario and Quebec are carrying heavy debt loads and Alberta continues to deal with large deficits.

David also says that Ottawa should avoid going any further into deficit. That would mean less opportunity for major new spending announcements in an election year, but some level of restraint could still be a popular move.

For more on the fiscal situations facing provincial and federal governments this budget season, see Bennett Jones’ Pre-Budget Analysis of Government Finances, authored by David and Richard Dion.