OTTAWA, August 28 (Reuters) – Canada recorded a sharply lower C$370 million ($266.57 million) budget deficit for the first three months of the 2026/27 fiscal year as government expenditures grew slightly faster than revenues, the finance ministry said on Friday.
By comparison, the deficit in the same period a year earlier had been C$6.28 billion, it said in a statement.
Program expenses rose 4.3% on increases across most categories of spending. Public debt increased by 6.1% reflecting reflecting higher average effective interest rates on an increased stock of marketable bonds and higher inflation adjustments on some other bonds, offset in part by lower short-term interest rates on treasury bills, the ministry said.
Year-to-date revenues grew by 9.8%, largely reflecting higher income from personal and corporate income tax revenues and GST revenues.
On a monthly basis, Canada posted a surplus of C$989 million in June, compared to a C$3.63 billion surplus in June 2025.
($1 = 1.3880 Canadian dollars)
(Reporting by Promit Mukherjee, editing by Maria Cheng)
((Reuters Ottawa bureau; maria.cheng@tr.com))
Keywords: CANADA BUDGET/
