After two years of pandemic-induced uncertainty, the federal Liberals are getting ready to deliver an updated spending blueprint in a 2022 budget that, by all accounts, has been influenced by fast-changing circumstances.

The result of a tumultuous few weeks is scheduled to be released Thursday, but experts note the uncertainty has not gone away.

High inflation rates may climb further. Unemployment is low, but labour shortages are widespread. Housing prices are rising at paces not seen in years.

And the war in Ukraine continues to send ripples through the global economy and threaten security.

A former Liberal budget director said the government should be careful how it earmarks billions in expected new spending with so many bumps on the economic road ahead.

Robert Asselin, senior vice-president of policy at the Business Council of Canada, says policy-makers never know what will happen and should be careful not to inflame key issues facing the country.

When Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland laid out the broad planks of this yearB次元官网网址檚 budget in late January, she spoke about boosting the countryB次元官网网址檚 economic potential, addressing housing affordability concerns, funding the transition to a green economy and minding high inflation rates.

Inflation rates then rose to a three-decade high in February, and prices have climbed further. The cost of living has become a top economic concern for Canadians, even though it has the effect of padding federal revenues as well.

Still, Asselin said, federal spending that adds to demand in the short term may only pour more gas on the inflationary fire.

B次元官网网址淪pending this buffer that the economy is giving them B次元官网网址� would be very irresponsible in my view because then you become less prepared for the next crisis,B次元官网网址� he said.

The next crisis arrived at the end of February when Russia invaded Ukraine. The fighting upended global security and created a new budget priority for the Liberals to boost defence spending along with other NATO allies.

The impacts from the fighting in Ukraine reach beyond the defence budget, said Elliot Hughes with Summa Strategies, pointing to energy prices, geopolitics and international business decisions.

B次元官网网址淯kraine has essentially, in some ways, thrown the government a little bit off course and off schedule in their ability to pull together what I think is whatB次元官网网址檚 needed B次元官网网址� which is a well-thought-out economic growth strategy,B次元官网网址� said Hughes, who worked as an adviser to Liberal finance and defence ministers.

The economy has fared better than anticipated over the past few months as it churned out growth and shrugged off the Omicron wave in January to see a quick rebound in job numbers.

That rebound along with higher oil prices is expected to pad the governmentB次元官网网址檚 bottom line and offset any new spending to be announced.

Some economists argue the Liberals shouldnB次元官网网址檛 pivot to austerity, noting pockets of weakness in the labour market for low-wage and older workers underneath positive headline figures showing an almost full labour market recovery from the onset of the pandemic.

The Liberals planned to use the jobs market to anchor budget decisions among other measures like a declining debt-to-GDP ratio, which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pointed to Wednesday as a core guardrail on spending.

Alberta Finance Minister Travis Toews said spending anchors provide policy-makers with some stability in uncertain times, adding that keeping the debt-to-GDP ratio declining may also mean reining in some spending plans.

B次元官网网址淥ur economyB次元官网网址檚 operating at full capacity,B次元官网网址� he said in an interview.

B次元官网网址淚 think there needs to be a real return to fiscal responsibility, some fiscal prudence in this budget.B次元官网网址�

Budget priorities changed again just a few weeks ago.

The Liberals deal with the New Democrats to land that partyB次元官网网址檚 support in key parliamentary votes committed the government to billions in new social programs.

The majority of the items in the deal were already reflected in Liberal campaign pledges that could amount to $48.5 billion in net new spending by 2026, said Rebekah Young, ScotiabankB次元官网网址檚 director of fiscal and provincial economics.

But promises for pharmacare and dental care, depending on how they are implemented, could add up to $20 billion more in spending over the three-year life of the deal, she said.

Trudeau didnB次元官网网址檛 give any hints about what measures might be in ThursdayB次元官网网址檚 budget, but didnB次元官网网址檛 suggest the spending taps would be closed.

B次元官网网址淭he way the economy has come roaring back in Canada, stronger and faster than many other places in the world, is because we were there to support Canadians,B次元官网网址� he said, B次元官网网址渁nd we are making sure that we continue to be fiscally responsible.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址� With files from Mia Rabson

Jordan Press, The Canadian Press