Federal government posts $12.7B deficit for June, spending down and revenue up

OTTAWA – The federal government posted a deficit of $12.7 billion for June compared with a deficit of $33.6 billion in June 2020.

The drop in the deficit came as spending dropped compared with a year ago when Ottawa spent billions on emergency aid due to the pandemic and revenue improved.

Program spending, excluding net actuarial losses, totalled $39.1 billion in June, down from $51.3 billion a year earlier.

Revenue increased to $29.6 billion for the month, up from $19.9 billion in June last year.

Public debt charges increased to $1.9 billion from nearly $1.3 billion.

The federal deficit for the April to June period of the 2021-22 fiscal year totalled $36.5 billion compared with a deficit of $120.4 billion for the same period a year earlier.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 27, 2021.