What is your reaction to Jim Flaherty’s announcement that Canada will be running a substantially larger deficit than previously expected?

It doesn't fundamentally change my view.. but only because the conservatives lost all creditibility on the economy back in the last election.

Very disappointed that they're running such a large deficit and sincerely wish they had made some different decisions. However, anyone believing that one of the other parties would be doing a better job is foolish. The easiest thing to be is a critic and the liberals are fantastic when it comes to doing the easy things. Managing the economy is a hard job and although I think the conservatives have dropped the ball in some areas I shudder at what the liberals might do in the same predicament. One can look at the Ontario governing liberal party as an example. Taxpayers covering GM's pensions? Ridiculous!!

another reason to increase our taxes

With all the changing dynamics in the economy and the pressure by the opposition to spend more I think Flaherty is doing a better job than any of his
critics would be capable of.
The US doesnt appear to doing any better forcasting their deficit

The conservatives would have managed spending very differently if the opposition parties had not threatened them with bringing down the government 6 weeks after an election. I believe the opposition has forced them into this level of spending. Case in point the Liberals wanting the government to change EI eligibility. One only has to look at how other countries are spending their way out of this global recession to see the Canada has not run a muck.

The bad news is that we don't yet have a handle on the expected debt we're rapidly growing as we try to spend out way out of this mess.

The good news is that we're in a better position here in Canada that most other places in the world, including US, most of Europe, and so on.

The most troubling news, for me, is that the Liberals were calling for even more deficit spending -- at least until they found out it was growing. Now all of a sudden they're fiscal conservatives?!?!?!

Another vote category in this poll could be: I might care, but I gave away that right when I didn't vote in the last election, along with the majority of Canadians.

How can they be giving bailouts to big Auto companies that have obviously been making bad decisions and doing a poor job financially, -and then cutting money to the environment, education and health care! well, conservatives always look after their own ie big business.

It really irks me that the architects of the Harris regime and its legacy of debt increases (Flahery, Baird, Clement, Guy Giorno and other backroom boys) are now running the country and doing the same thing our national financial picture. As quite a few people pointed out, the GST reduction while it may be popular from a rhetorical angle, was very shortsighted and poor public policy that has weakened the fiscal balance (I wonder how many more billions of $ would be in the federal treasury and how much smaller the deficit would be if the GST had remained at 7 % -- the level established by a previous Conservative government.

Nobody likes to pay more taxes, but to paraphrase the great American jurist Oliver Wendell Holmes, "I don"t mind paying taxes -- it buys me civilization."
(and I wonder just how many Canadians rushed out to buy things -- from candy bars, to cars, to condos -- just because the GST went down by a percentage point or two!!)

As pointed out in numerous publications, the problem is not lack of revenue (even after the downturn), it's out of control program spending (twice the rate of inflation over the past several years). Ironically, the Conservatives are acting exactly the opposite of most private citizens - they splurged when the money was rolling in and didn't cut back their spending when the economy went south. We'll all pay for it with higher taxes and won't come close to seeing any off-set from the so-called "Stimulus" spending. More pigs at the trough with their "shovels ready".

They had very little credibility to begin with -- no real record to stand on as Canada's "new" Conservative Party. They sure as heck have a record now and it don't smell nice.

The Conservatives were forced into this large spending position by the opposition parties who wanted a large stimulous package, and are now the one's complaining about the deficit. They can't have it both ways. If the Liberals under Trudeau had not created such a large National Debt in the 70's and 80's neither Mulroney nor Harper would have had any problems with deficits as there would have been more than enough money on hand. I didn't include Chretien in this argument because he was the Finance Minister at the time that Trudeau ran amuck. Do any of the Liberal's out there remember interest rates at 20% or better? I think they have poor memories and no shame if they criticize this government.

Liberals have forced them into spenting money to keep jobs which I agree with. Their similar program would have created more spending-a good portion of the money would go to creating another expensive bureaucracy. Think of the money spent every year as a result of 2 official languages(the only country in the world with 2 official languages). Remember Chretien's promises- he made to get elected- such as get rid of GST-not realistic. Look at ONTARIO LIBERALS and their broken promises- their health tax and now the cost to us of combining GST and PST-Think a little more about what the Conservatives have done for us-reduced GST- combined income for one family income(what a blessing for us having raised 9 children)

The most recent advice on CBC newsworld regardng the recovery and deficit was to ignore the media for the most part and take a longer range view toward investing in infrastructure, job retention/creation and retraining. Enough gloom let us position ourselves for the recovery. It is a good time to spend!

There is strategy behind all this -by the conservatives. Getting ready 2 call election--as Iggy keeps threatening-to pull the plug--he has no clear vision on anything--just waiting 2 grab power---before the libs said -it should be more--deficit-- now they say it's too much--using blackmail-- will only cause us to have an election! The conservatives are just doing what they are asking for.Disgusting-- bailing out the auto workers--it won'y help the economy at all--after the money is spent-- they'll ask for more--have we lost our senses!!! It's plain & simple--the unions have just-finally -priced themselves out of jobs--face it. This economy can't go on pandering to unions-- each employer should be allowed to hire-fire-& run their own business--then we would not be in this soup!!!

Our nation should be so thankful that we have the prime minister and government we do. I cannot fathom except among the liberal establishment
how Iggy (as his friends like to call him) had any credibility but then again he has said literally nothing constructive to really know who he is. Maybe he is just visiting. I hope our nation will wake up and smell the coffee and appreciate just how stable and credible our elected minority is and has been. Knowing left wing bend of this nation and the liberal party that has no principles but to win power, my hopes are high but so are my fears for our nation and good government.

I'm really annoyed at the number of people who have voted to say the Conservatives have lost their credability....come on people! The WORLD is in this predicament, due , in no small part to the actions or non actions of the United States and their unchecked banking system. It wouldn't matter WHO was in power in our country, the same difficulties would have to have been addressed , and in the same fashion as the Conservatives are doing right now. Canadians are so bloody fickle! One bump in the road and they turn to another political party. Certainly doesn't speak well for the loyalty of Canadians does it? We have, in my view, the best possible Government in place to see us through these times: so why are the opposition parties pounding there drums and mouthing off when they should be working WITH the Conservatives to get the issues addressed and ultimately solved. We are in the best position of all of the countries in the world, affected by this economic crisis....and those words come from other well regarded world leaders.....so why doesn't the opposition address THAT fact?
Let's put our shoulders to the grind stone and help our elected officials do what we we voted them in to do....govern our country.

Why do we reward the incompetent auto manufacturers. If there is bailout money give it to the strongest and best organized. These are the leaders. Ford seems to have done better than the other two so they should get the lions share of the bailout money. The stronger and more virtuous deserve reward and assistance, not the companies that have allowed this global enterprise to be destroyed. How about some cash intensives to Toyota or Honda to produce more vehicles in this country. The nationality of the owners means nothing when it comes to jobs and economic stimulation. Competence and the ability to produce is what matters. Why must we taxpayers again be pawns in this failed socialist experiment. Conservatives should govern as conservative instead of tax and spend liberals. Pressure and politics from the Liberal party be damned.

To read the poll results I find interesting. How or why can anyone say the Conservatives have lost credibility. What can they do? Force the closure of General Motors... Think about it? What can any party do right now?

I find the talk of EI, UI, bogey - what ever you want to call it - a big election pivotal topic. The Liberals were the party that screwed it up in the first place and the Tories just followed their platform. So what's an election going to do for the hundreds of thousands of people that are unemployed or facing unemployment in the near future? In times of need a socialist government is the only choice. Now what's the NDP say - save the trees, save the whales, save the seals, save the ozone, save the forest, save your breath - you'll never get elected.

Dropping the GST did squat for the average taxpayer. Averaging income tax between a married couple does nothing for singles---costs more for one to live than a couple, but singles get no tax breaks. Conservatives throwing surpluses willi-nilli does not show budget responsibility. Harper has shown how to waste millions on negative advertising belittling Dion and now dissing Ignatieff---obvious childish bullying. Harper obviously has nothing intelligent to offer the voter and has lied about the economy---to go from a surplus to a 50 billion debt certainly doesn't show competence or integrity. Harper has shown that he is pompous and arrogant and only cares about himself playing "KING of the Castle" and not the welfare of average Canadians. Harper has certainly not behaved like a "statesman", just a spoiled brat ! ! Time he found another job.

It is not so much the deficit announcement itself that removes all credibility. The real issue is that only months before, during the election Campaign, Harper repeatedly told us "THERE IS NO PROBLEM", while all the other leaders were begging him to start taking action. Now he says "Situations that could not have been foreseen..." They were foreseen by everyone else!