OTTAWA — A new federal promise to spend more than $660 million on gender equality and 2SLGBTQIA+ communities — unveiled to great fanfare on Wednesday — still leaves a steep projected drop in funding in the coming years, as the Carney government previews “tough choices” ahead of its first budget next week.

At the same time, the government house leader said Wednesday that discussions continue with opposition parties, but it remains unclear how Prime Minister Mark Carney will pass the annual spending plan and avoid plunging Canada into its second federal election in less than a year.

Flanked by MPs and a room packed with community advocates in the glass atrium of the National Art Gallery near Parliament Hill, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne hailed the new funding for Women and

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