Flaherty’s new goal: Not merely balanced budget, but useful surplus for 2015

OTTAWA – Finance Minister Jim Flaherty may have some good news for Canadians: the federal deficit battle is going better than expected.

The finance minister will unveil his fall economic update in Edmonton on Tuesday and all reports suggest he is poised to announce this year’s deficit will be lower than the $18.7 billion projected in the March budget.

That means the government may go beyond merely balancing the budget in 2015, but record a comfortable surplus allowing it to fulfil some of its 2011 election promises.

A surplus could give the Harper Conservatives leeway to introduce income splitting to reduce the tax take on families with children in time for the October 2015 campaign.

Economists say they have handed the minister a more rosy and stable outlook for the economy going forward, with growth averaging 2.4 per cent next year, after this year’s slow 1.7 per cent pace.

As well, a less risky global economic landscape points to Ottawa being able to meet its self-declared target for 2015 and even surpass it.