Ottawa posts $400M surplus for September compared with $3.8B deficit a year ago

OTTAWA – The federal government posted a $400-million surplus for September compared with a $3.8-billion deficit in the same month last year.

According to the monthly fiscal monitor, the improvement came as revenue was up by $1.1 billion or 5.4 per cent, helped by higher personal and corporate income tax revenue.

Meanwhile, program spending was down by $2.9 billion or 12.8 per cent compared with a year ago when the government was hit by costs related to flooding in Alberta.

Public debt charges were down $100 million or 5.4 per cent.

For the first six months of the fiscal year, the federal government posted a deficit of $700 million compared with a deficit of $10.3 billion in the same period a year ago.

The report says the results are in line with the government’s fall economic update which forecast a deficit of $2.9 billion for 2014-15.