October 2016
Fiscal Monitor for April – August 2016
The federal government reported a deficit of $2.7 billion in July 2016, up $0.4 billion from that reported in July 2015, as increases in program expenses more than offset increases in revenues and a decline in public debt charges. As a result, for the first five months of the 2016-17 fiscal year, the federal government posted a deficit of $5.4 billion, compared to a surplus of $2.8 billion in the same period in 2015-16.
Read MoreTOUGH BUDGET DECISIONS LIE AHEAD
Public consultations for the 2017 federal Budget, scheduled for before the end of March, are well underway. The House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance began its hearings in September, with its report expected before the House winter break. Finance Minister Bill Morneau has also launched his own consultations, primarily through town hall meetings and on-line submissions.
Read MoreFiscal Monitor for April – June 2016: The Beginning of Deficits
In his first budget, the Finance Minister forecast deficits in the coming months and indeed years and deficits he will get. With the release of the June 2016 Fiscal Monitor, a new era of budgetary deficits is again upon us.
From now on, we will be tracking the monthly and cumulative fiscal numbers to see how big those deficits could be and what they mean for the government’s goal of a stable debt to GDP ratio
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