The federal government posted a budgetary deficit of $23.6 billion for the first nine months of its 2023-24 fiscal year. Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Sean Fraser, left to right, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, Employment Workforce Development and Official Languages Minister Randy Boissonnault, and Minister of Rural Economic Development and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency Gudie Hutchings take part in a news conference in Ottawa on Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Patrick Doyle
OTTAWA – The federal government posted a budgetary deficit of $23.6 billion for the first nine months of its 2023-24 fiscal year.
The result compared with a deficit of $5.5 billion for the same stretch of its 2022-23 fiscal year.
Government revenue for the April-to-December period totalled $318.1 billion, up from $310.0 billion a year earlier, boosted by higher personal income tax revenue, other non-tax revenue and other taxes and duties, partially offset by lower corporate income tax.
The government says program expenses, excluding net actuarial losses, totalled $301.0 billion for nine-month period, up from $282.4 billion a year earlier, with increases across all major categories of spending.
Public debt charges amounted to $35.1 billion, up from $25.8 billion, due to higher interest rates.
Net actuarial losses totalled $5.7 billion, down from $7.4 billion a year earlier.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 23, 2024.
