OTTAWA — The Canadian government ran a $941-million deficit for October compared with a $3.21-billion deficit in the same month last year.
Ottawa's fiscal monitor says the improvement came as revenue increased 11.1 per cent, boosted by higher personal income tax and Goods and Services Tax revenues.
The results of a year ago included a one-time adjustment downward due to the introduction of the Conservative government's income-splitting plan for families and a doubling of the children's fitness tax credit.
The newly elected Liberal government is planning to discontinue income splitting.
Program spending for October 2015 increased by 0.4 per cent, while public debt charges fell 6.4 per cent.
For the April to October period, the government posted a surplus of $634 million compared with a deficit of $3.95 billion in the same period a year earlier.
Revenue for the first seven months of the fiscal year was up 8.7 per cent, while program spending was up 6.6 per cent. Public debt charges fell 3.6 per cent.
