Liberal platform promises $130B in new measures over 4 years, adding $225B to federal debt

The Liberal Party of Canada is promising to roll out almost $130 billion in new measures over the next four years that, when combined with existing spending, will add $225 billion to the federal debt. 

In the fall economic statement, the Liberal government of former prime minister Justin Trudeau projected the deficit over the next four years to be $131.4 billion.

"Let's be absolutely clear, this is not a normal fall update, budget lockup," Liberal Leader Mark Carney said during a campaign stop in Whitby, Ont., on Saturday. "We are in the middle of the biggest crisis of our lifetimes.

"This is a plan that meets that moment in a way that is very prudent with peoples' hard-earned tax dollars but bold in terms of where this country can go."

One of the largest spending initiatives in the election platform the party unveiled Saturday is the previously announced one percentage point reduction in the lowest marginal tax rate taking it from 15 per cent to 14 per cent. 

That's a 6.6 per cent cut to the overall amount of tax paid in that bracket and it comes at a cost to the treasury of about $22 billion over the next four years. 

Other significant expenditures in the party's four-year plan include a pledge to increase existing defence spending by $18 billion in order to meet the two per cent NATO spending target. 

"In a world of growing threats, Canada must be equipped to detect and deter those who would attack our sovereignty," the platform said.  

"We have a plan to meet our NATO commitments and ensure that the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) has the equipment they need to defend our sovereignty."

Aside from new equipment, that additional spending will go toward giving CAF members a raise while improving housing and other benefits, modernizing the recruitment process and cracking down on sexual misconduct.

Watch |  Carney unveils costed Liberal platform:

Carney's plan to double the pace of home building, by creating a standalone agency called Build Canada Homes (BCH), will cost about $3 billion annually over the next four years. 

Describing as a "lean, mission-driven organization," BCH will act as a developer, overseeing the construction of affordable housing in Canada.