Close X
Monday, November 11, 2024
ADVT 
National

Trudeau Government Posted $300M Surplus In First Nine Months Of 2018-19

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 22 Feb, 2019 09:50 PM

    OTTAWA — A preliminary analysis of the federal books says the government ran a budgetary surplus of $300 million through the first nine months of the fiscal year.


    The surplus is an improvement compared with the April-to-December period in 2017-18, when Ottawa posted a deficit of $8.9 billion, according to Friday's release of the Finance Department's monthly fiscal monitor.


    The document said overall revenues were up $19.3 billion, or 8.7 per cent, compared with the same period last year, due in large part to higher revenues from taxes and incoming employment insurance premiums.


    Program expenses were up $8.4 billion, or 3.9 per cent, compared with the same nine-month stretch last year, because of increases in major transfers to individuals, to other levels of government and due to an increase in direct program spending.


    The fiscal monitor also said public debt charges rose $1.7 billion, or 10.3 per cent, mostly due to the higher effective interest rate on government debt and the higher inflation adjustments.


    For the month of December alone, the government posted a surplus of $2.5 billion thanks to a revenue increase of $2.6 billion. In December 2017, Ottawa ran a $500-million surplus.


    The Liberals' fall fiscal update, released in November, predicted the government was on track to run annual shortfalls of $18.1 billion in 2018-19, $19.6 billion in 2019-20 and $18.1 billion in 2020-21.


    Finance Minister Bill Morneau was asked Friday by reporters whether the improvement shown in the fiscal monitor would translate into smaller deficits.


    Morneau, who will introduce updated fiscal projections in his March 19 federal budget, sidestepped the question and said the economy is doing well. He insisted the stronger bottom line is a result of government investments.


    "That said, what you saw this morning was one month's snapshot," Morneau said in Toronto.


    "And in order to look at the results you have to look at the entire year. We continue to see this year going well, but we will be prudent and cautious in the way that we manage the economy."

    Canadians should expect to hear a lot more about the state of the federal books in the leadup to the October election.


    The Liberals have faced criticism from the opposition Conservatives and some economists for failing to provide a timeline to balance the budget. There are warnings the government could face big fiscal challenges when the next economic downturn arrives.


    After the 2015 election, the Trudeau government abandoned campaign vows to run yearly shortfalls of no more than $10 billion and to balance the books by 2019. Instead, it has focused on reducing the net debt-to-GDP ratio — a measure of how burdensome the national debt is — each year.


    The government argues the extra spending, in areas such as infrastructure, has been necessary to help lift Canada's long-term growth.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Proposed Edible Pot Rules Are Wasteful, Would Leave Products Tasteless: Critics

    Proposed Edible Pot Rules Are Wasteful, Would Leave Products Tasteless: Critics
    Canada's proposed edible pot regulations would result in tasteless products wrapped in wasteful packaging, shutting out medical patients and fuelling a continued black market, critics say

    Proposed Edible Pot Rules Are Wasteful, Would Leave Products Tasteless: Critics

    Man Arrested, Charged In String Of Four Bank Robberies Over Four Hours In Surrey

    Man Arrested, Charged In String Of Four Bank Robberies Over Four Hours In Surrey
    Richard Orr, 24, Is Charged With Four Counts Of Robbery And Remains In Custody Following The Four-Hour Spree On Feb. 12.

    Man Arrested, Charged In String Of Four Bank Robberies Over Four Hours In Surrey

    Alcohol Policies Fizzle For Canadian Governments As Harms Overflow: Reports

    Alcohol Policies Fizzle For Canadian Governments As Harms Overflow: Reports
    VICTORIA — Two new studies say the federal and provincial governments must do more to reduce alcohol consumption after determining damages from drinking have surpassed tobacco use.

    Alcohol Policies Fizzle For Canadian Governments As Harms Overflow: Reports

    B.C. Review Board Says Man Allan Schoenborn Who Killed Kids A Threat, But Outings To Be Mulled

    Schoenborn, who's now 50 years old, has been held at the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital since before a 2010 court decision that found him not criminally responsible for killing his daughter and two sons.    

    B.C. Review Board Says Man Allan Schoenborn Who Killed Kids A Threat, But Outings To Be Mulled

    Federal NDP Loses Another Incumbent As Quebec MP Says She Won’t Seek Re-Election

    Federal NDP Loses Another Incumbent As Quebec MP Says She Won’t Seek Re-Election
    The federal NDP is losing another incumbent, as Quebec MP Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet says she will not be seeking re-election later this year.

    Federal NDP Loses Another Incumbent As Quebec MP Says She Won’t Seek Re-Election

    Ottawa Looking At Reuniting Syrian Family After Fire Claims Seven Children: PM Trudeau

    "We are looking at what can be done within our system to give this family a little solace in a time of unbelievable tragedy," the prime minister said after a funding announcement in Halifax.

    Ottawa Looking At Reuniting Syrian Family After Fire Claims Seven Children: PM Trudeau