Charts: A Conservative plan to reduce the size of government

There is nothing hidden in the Conservative government’s agenda for reducing the size of the federal government. Federal government revenues fluctuated between 16 and 18 per cent of GDP in the 30 years before the Conservatives came to power. They have now been below 15 per cent of GDP for five years, and they are projected to remain that low for the next five years.

This is being accomplished by steadily reducing spending on federal government operations: transfers to individuals and to provinces continue to grow with the economy. Direct program spending has fallen steadily under the Conservatives. Moreover, the projected path of these reductions gets more aggressive with each budget.