The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that Prime Minister Mark Carney's government unveiled a blueprint Tuesday to counter rising U.S. protectionism and bolster a sluggish economy through tax incentives to spur corporate investment, targeted federal spending and cuts to the public service. The Globe's Robert Fife and Stephanie Levitz write that Mr. Carney's first budget, presented to the House of Commons by Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne, lays out new spending of more than $140-billion over five years, but after factoring in $56-billion in savings from cuts to the public service and program spending, net new spending is $89.7-billion over five years. Mr. Champagne said the budget could spur $1-trillion of investment. Much of the expected investment depends on private-sector participation. The budget says the 2025-26 deficit will be $78.3-billion and is projected to drop to $56.6-billion by 2029-30. Bank of Nova Scotia economist Rebekah Young said the budget is ambitious but not transformative unless the private sector takes advantage of the tax breaks to invest in infrastructure and other nation-building projects. Inflation is forecast to be 2.4 per cent in 2025.