Ottawa Posted $43.2 Billion Deficit in 2024 Fiscal Year: Finance Department

The federal government ran a budgetary deficit of $43.2 billion in the 2024–25 fiscal year, which was $7.7 billion lower than the previous year.

Compared to the period of April 2023 to March 2024, when the budgetary deficit was at $50.9 billion, the 2024 fiscal year saw higher program expenses and increased public debt charges, but these were offset by higher revenues and lower actuarial losses.

The Department of Finance’s monthly fiscal monitor said revenues increased by 11.3 percent in 2024, rising by $50 billion compared to the previous year. Revenues were at $494.8 billion in 2024, compared to $444.8 billion in 2023.

In 2024, the federal government’s tax revenues increased by $36.6 billion, or 9.9 percent, largely due to higher corporate and personal income tax revenue. The carbon tax proceeds also rose by $2.4 billion, or 23.3 percent, because of higher carbon pricing that year.

Other revenues increased by $9.5 billion in 2024, or around 25.8 percent, due to higher profits from Crown corporations, higher interest and penalty revenues, and higher net foreign exchange revenues.

The government’s expenses in the 2024 fiscal year were $480.3 billion, up $39.6 billion from the previous year. Major transfers to Canadians rose by $11.7 billion, Employment Insurance benefits increased by $2.1 billion due to higher unemployment, and children’s benefits rose by $2.2 billion due to higher consumer prices and more eligible children.

Major transfers to the provinces and territories for programs like Canada Health Transfer and equalization transfers also rose by $4.9 billion in 2024 compared to the previous year, while direct program expenses in areas such as the Canadian Dental Care Plan and Canada Workers Benefit payments rose by $17.7 billion.

Carbon tax rebates returned to Canadians also increased by $5.4 billion, or around 53.0 percent, due to the introduction of the Canada Carbon Rebate for Small Businesses and an increase of the rebate amount for individuals.

Net actuarial losses, which are the projected changes in value of the government’s obligations for pensions and other employee future benefits, also decreased by $3.5 billion, or 46.8 percent, in 2024 compared to the previous year.

In the month of March 2025, the federal government posted a budgetary deficit of $23.9 billion compared to $33.6 billion in March 2024. Compared to March 2024, this March saw government revenues increase by 15.2 percent, program expenses fall by 4.7 percent, public debt charges fall by 6.5 percent, and net actuarial losses fall by 46.8 percent.

Because the federal government had a budgetary deficit of $43.2 billion in the 2024–25 fiscal year, along with a requirement of $86.6 billion from “non-budgetary transactions,” it had a financial requirement of $129.7 billion for that period, compared to $87.1 billion in the previous fiscal year.

To pay for this financial requirement, the government used $20.5 billion from its existing cash reserves. It also borrowed $109.2 billion by issuing new debt, mainly in the form of marketable bonds that can then be sold to investors, banks, and pension funds.

Canada’s federal debt, which is the year-over-year change in the accumulated deficit, rose by $36.9 billion from the 2023 to 2024 fiscal year. It now sits at $1.27 trillion.