Ontario records lower deficit for the last fiscal year than projected

Ontario ended the last fiscal year with a smaller deficit than projected in the 2022 budget, largely on the strength of higher tax revenues due to economic growth and inflation.

Treasury Board President Caroline Mulroney and Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy released the province’s public accounts for 2022-23 today, which looks at the final numbers for the last fiscal year.

The government’s 2022 budget had projected a $19.9 billion deficit for that fiscal year, but the province actually ended $5.9 billion in the red.

Total spending ended up being almost exactly what the government had projected, but revenues were $13 billion higher.

The ministers say that’s mainly due to higher taxation revenues, particularly in corporate taxes and sales tax, reflecting higher-than-expected inflation and strong economic growth.

In the last public accounts, the government showed it ended 2021-22 with a $2.1 billion surplus, a far cry from the $33-billion deficit projected in the 2021 budget.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 27, 2023.