The federal government’s decision not to present a budget this spring continues a troubling trend of late or absent federal budgets. Since 1994, the government has presented five budgets after the fiscal year began. Four of those late budgets appeared in the past decade. The government presented no budget at all in 2020. Presenting a budget late or never undermines transparency and accountability.
Note: We count documents with “budget” in their titles that present projections for the upcoming fiscal year. The Economic Statement and Budget Update tabled in October 2000 contained projections for the 2001/02 fiscal year. The budget presented in December 2001 contained projections for the 2002/03 fiscal year.
