OTTAWA, March 27 (Reuters) – Canada recorded a higher C$31.21 billion ($22.53 billion) budget deficit for the first ten months of the 2025/26 fiscal year as government expenditures grew faster than revenues, the finance ministry said on Friday.
By comparison, the deficit in the same period a year earlier had been C$26.85 billion, it said in a statement.
Program expenses rose 2.6% on increases across all major categories of spending. Public debt charges marginally shrank by 0.3% reflecting the impact of lower interest rates on treasury bills and other instruments. This was partly offset by higher average effective interest rates on an increased stock of marketable bonds, the ministry said.
Year-to-date revenues grew by 1.6%, largely reflecting higher income from custom import duties and corporate and personal income tax revenues.
On a monthly basis, Canada posted a deficit of C$5.07 billion in January, compared to a C$5.13 billion shortfall in January 2025.
($1 = 1.3855 Canadian dollars)
(Reporting by Promit Mukherjee, editing by David Ljunggren)
((Reuters Ottawa bureau; david.ljunggren@tr.com))
Keywords: CANADA BUDGET/
