Canada Hits Record Deficit
Posted October 12, 2010 1:20 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty says Canada’s federal deficit rose to its highest point in history last year, but the government is on track to balance the budget in just over five years.
Flaherty says a one-time cost of $5.6-billion related to the switch to a harmonized sales tax in Ontario and British Columbia pushed the deficit to $55.6 billion.
But the finance minister says Ottawa is roughly on track with its projections for spending and revenues and he expects to see a surplus in 2015-16.
Speaking in Mississauga near Toronto, Flaherty unveiled no new spending or cost-cutting measures as he delivered his fiscal update.
He says this year’s deficit for the 2010-11 period is expected to be $3.7 billion less than the $49.2 billion shortfall previously expected, largely owing to the Canadian economy’s fast start out of the recession.
Flaherty acknowledges the economic recovery is slowing, and so will government revenues. The government estimates growth slowed to 1.8 per cent in the third quarter.
