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HomeNewsNational NewsFederal deficit for the 2020-21 fiscal year pegged at $343.2-billion

Federal deficit for the 2020-21 fiscal year pegged at $343.2-billion

A fiscal “snapshot” from the Trudeau government estimates the federal deficit for the 2020-21 fiscal year will be $343.2-billion.

Finance Minister Bill Morneau presented the update Wednesday, saying it’s expected the economy will contract by 6.8% in 2020 because of COVID-19 – its sharpest drop since the Great Depression.

Morneau says providing support like the Canada Emergency Relief Benefit and the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy has led Ottawa to spend $236-billion to date.

However, Morneau did say there’s a 5.5% projected rebound in 2021. By the end of the 2020-21 fiscal year next March, he said they are projecting $469 billion more will be spent than what was projected by spending targets set in December 2019.

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The rising deficit has pushed the federal government’s total debt level to more than $1-trillion, a record-setting number for Canada.

Morneau said he expects to deliver an economic update or a budget in the fall.

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