OTTAWA – The parliamentary budget officer said Thursday he expects the coming fall budget will reveal a sharp increase in Ottawa’s deficit that puts the government’s previous fiscal anchors in jeopardy.
Ottawa’s fiscal watchdog Jason Jacques now projects the federal government will post an annual deficit of $68.5 billion this year, up from $51.7 billion last year.
He said in a new report that he expects federal debt-to-GDP is no longer on a declining path over the medium term — a ratio that previously was a key fiscal anchor for the federal government.
