Canada pushing back budget to April due to market instability

"Given the current market instability, I will not bring forward our budget earlier than April. We need all the information we can obtain before finalizing our decisions," Oliver said in the text of a speech he was giving in Calgary.

The federal budget is usually introduced in February or March, occasionally as early as January, given that the fiscal year starts on April 1. But lower oil prices have made it tricky to predict government revenues and what the economy will do.

"Given the current volatility, there is no consensus about how low will prices fall and how long will they stay there," Oliver said. "Nevertheless, every knowledgeable person I have spoken to believes, and history tells us, that prices will eventually move well above current level."

He said lower oil prices create both benefits and difficulties for the Canadian economy. Among the benefits are enhanced consumption and savings. Canadian manufacturing and transportation companies are also made more competitive by lower energy costs and the cheaper Canadian dollar.

(Reporting by Scott Haggett; Writing by Randall Palmer; Editing by Peter Galloway)