Live Updates > Live Update Details
2025-10-31 23:17:24
Canada's budget deficit widened in August and for the first five months of the current fiscal year, foreshadowing the state of public finances ahead of the Liberal government's annual budget announcement next week. The Treasury Department's monthly fiscal monitor showed that the deficit widened to C$3.28 billion (equivalent to US$2.34 billion) in August from C$2.55 billion a year earlier. The deficit rose to C$11.07 billion between April and August from C$9.84 billion a year earlier. Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne will announce the government's budget plan on Tuesday, and officials have warned that the deficit for the current fiscal year, which ends on March 31 next year, will be substantial. Parliament's budget oversight body projects the deficit for fiscal year 2025-26 to reach C$68.5 billion, exceeding 2% of GDP. Some analysts, such as economists at the CD Howe Institute think tank in Toronto and National Bank Financial, believe the budget deficit could be much higher, reaching around C$90 billion.
