The Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, on 5 March 2012 met with Canada’s leading private sector forecasters to gather their views on economic prospects for the country.

“While our domestic economy has been resilient over the last year, the challenges of weaker global growth and the global financial turmoil persist,” said Minister Flaherty.

The Department of Finance bases its economic forecast for budget-planning purposes on the average of private sector economic forecasts. This practice introduces an element of independence into the fiscal forecast and is supported by organizations such as the International Monetary Fund.

“The Government’s focus is to return to a balanced budget to help the Canadian economy face these global challenges,” said Minister Flaherty. “The Government will continue to work on improving the well-being of Canadians over the long term by securing the recovery, eliminating the deficit, and investing in the drivers of long-term economic growth.”