Over time, a political movement grew to balance the budget, hoping it would spur the economy. Several premiers in the provinces have been elected on platforms of balancing the budget. Prime Minister Jean Chr tien has also been determined to reduce spending. Canada has depended on an extensive network of social programs that many have taken for granted. This has been in jeopardy because of the budget cuts.
Many people are angry.
For example, thousands of Ontarians demonstrated in the streets of Toronto this past October to protest the spending cuts of Ontario Premier Mike Harris. Peter McCormick, professor of political science at the University of Lethbridge, said the Canadian government s fiscal problems began during the 1970s, when it started to spend beyond its means. Canada began to accumulate a massive debt throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Also, the slow growth that Canada experienced in the 1970s and a recession that began in the late 1980s hurt the Canadian economy. According to McCormick, social programs, medicare programs and post-secondary education are, by constitutional mandate, the responsibility of the provinces.