The federal government in Ottawa ran a budget deficit of $57 billion over the first five months of its current fiscal year, which is about $114 billion less than the treasury spent during the same period of 2020.
The Finance Department's fiscal monitor says the budgetary deficit between April and August of this year was $57.2 billion, down from the $170.5 billion recorded over the same five month period in 2020 when COVID-19 first hit the economy.
Friday's report says the deficit now reflects current economic challenges caused by COVID-19, including ongoing public health restrictions.
Program spending, excluding net actuarial losses, between April and August was $190 billion, a decline of about $64.1 billion, or a 25.2% drop, from the $254.1 billion in the same period a year earlier.
The Finance Department said the decline largely reflects lower amounts paid in emergency benefits to individuals and businesses.
Year-over-year, emergency benefits to workers declined by 66.4%, or $23.3 billion, to almost $11.8 billion from $35 billion, while the wage subsidy declined to $14.5 billion from $37.4 billion.
The Finance Department says the decline of $22.9 billion, or 61%, for the wage subsidy program reflects drops in the number of eligible workers and the average subsidy per employee.
Revenues between April and August reached almost $149 billion, which was a $51.8-billion, or 53.3%, increase from the $97.2 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal year, driven primarily by higher tax revenues.
Public debt charges amounted to $9.7 billion, up $600 million or 6.3% from the almost $9.1 billion recorded between April and August of 2020, which largely reflects higher consumer price index adjustments on real return bonds.
The federal government’s fiscal year runs from April 1 to March 31.
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