Liberals begin road to 2019 with budget focused on their strengths
OTTAWA — The Liberals are paving the road to the next election with a mid-mandate budget focused on fulfilling some on-brand promises, while potentially saving room for flashier, big-ticket items that will come closer to voting day in 2019.
“The hints thus far seem to be around that they are going to play to their strengths, which is smart politics when you’re about a year and a half out from an election,” said Greg MacEachern, a former Liberal strategist with the lobby firm Environics Communications.
The overarching theme of the federal budget being tabled Tuesday will be one of gender equality, which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau — a proudly self-proclaimed feminist — has made a big priority for his Liberal government, including throughout his travels abroad.
The document is also expected to signal plans to explore a national pharmacare plan, with the goal of bringing it to life in the pre-election budget of 2019, which would turn it into a major campaign promise — and a way to outflank upstart NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, who has made such a program one of his top priorities.