Ottawa to run bigger-than-expected deficits over coming years: budget watchdog
OTTAWA — The federal government is on track to run slightly deeper deficits than it’s been predicting for each of the next few years, says a new analysis released Tuesday by the parliamentary budget officer.
The watchdog also estimates Ottawa has just a 10 per cent chance of balancing the federal books in 2021-22 and a 30 per cent chance of seeing black ink in 2023-24.
The report predicted Ottawa is on pace to post a $19.4-billion deficit in 2018-19, which is $1.3 billion higher than the Liberal government’s projection in its budget last February. Beyond this year, the watchdog says the annual shortfalls will be between $500 million and $2.8 billion bigger than the government’s predictions.
The larger forecasted shortfalls are largely tied to recent changes in how the government calculates its pension liabilities, which have immediately raised Ottawa’s direct program expenses, the report said.