Finance Minister Jim Flaherty presents the federal government’s budget in the House of Commons on Monday at 16:00 ET.

On Tuesday, Statistics Canada reports on the consumer price index for February. Economists expect an increase of 1.6% from the same month last year.

On Wednesday, StatsCan reports on retail sales for January. Economists forecast a drop of 0.3% over the previous month, but with lacklustre auto sales stripped out, a gain of 0.3 is expected.

On Thursday, Ontario Finance Minister Greg Sorbara presents the 2007 Ontario budget at 16:00 in the legislature.

South of the border, the flow of economic data doesn’t start until Tuesday when the U.S. Commerce Department reports on housing starts and building permits in February. Economists expect there were 1.45 million annualized starts, up from 1.41 million in January.

On Friday, the U.S. National Association of Realtors reports on existing home sales for February. Economists forecast annualized sales of 6.35 million, down from 6.46 million in January.

Corporate earnings

It’s a quiet week for earnings reports. Wall Street giant Morgan Stanley releases first-quarter results, while Forzani Group is scheduled to release fourth-quarter results.