OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada posted a budget deficit of C$17.8 billion ($14.5 billion) for the 2016-17 fiscal year, the Finance Department said on Tuesday, slightly below the preliminary deficit of C$21.85 billion reported in May and well above the C$1.0 billion deficit the year before.
The deficit for 2016-2017 was slightly smaller than the C$23.0 billion gap the government projected in its annual budget. Program expenses increased by C$16.2 billion, or 6 percent, partly due to a revamped children's benefit, while revenues decreased by C$2.0 billion, or 0.7 percent, from the 2015-16 fiscal year.