Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland appears as a witness at a House of Commons finance committee in Ottawa, on Monday, Nov. 28, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
OTTAWA – The federal government posted a deficit of $0.2 billion during the first seven months of the 2022-23 fiscal year.
In its monthly fiscal monitor, the finance department says the deficit between April and October compares with a deficit of $72.3 billion reported for the same period last year.
Compared with the same seven months in the previous fiscal year, government revenues were up $36.6 billion, or 17.6 per cent, as revenue streams continued to improve.
Program expenses were down $40.4 billion, or 15.6 per cent, largely due to the expiration of COVID-19 measures.
Higher interest rates and stubbornly high inflation have driven up the cost of public debt charges by $5.2 billion, or 35.7 per cent, compared with the same period last year.
Net actuarial losses were down $0.3 billion, or 4.7 per cent.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 23, 2022.
