Revenue up but deficit widens
Canada’s federal government recorded a budgetary deficit of $23.6 billion between April and December of its 2023-24 fiscal year, marking a huge jump from the $5.5 billion deficit noted in the same period in the previous fiscal year.
Revenue streams during the nine-month period reached $318.1 billion, up from $310 billion in 2022-23.
The government said the uptick was primarily due to an increase in personal income tax collections, alongside other non-tax revenues and various taxes and duties. However, these increases were somewhat tempered by a decline in corporate income tax revenues.
Expenditures also surged, as program spending (excluding net actuarial losses) climbed to $301 billion from $282.4 billion the year before driven by increases across all major categories.
Furthermore, public debt charges rose to $35.1 billion from the previous year’s $25.8 billion as higher interest rates continued to impact the cost of borrowing.
Moreover, the nine-month period saw net actuarial losses of $5.7 billion, dropping from the $7.4 billion reported in the year prior.
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