-- Canada's budgetary surplus for February declined from the year-prior month, while the deficit for the April 2025 to February 2026 period was wider, the Department of Finance said Friday ahead of the spring economic update coming next Tuesday.
There was a budgetary surplus of $5.7 billion in February, down from a surplus of $7.6 billion in February 2025, the department said in its latest Fiscal Monitor.
The budgetary surplus before net actuarial losses and gains was $6.1 billion, compared to a surplus of
$7.9 billion in the same period of 2024-25, it added. The department noted the budgetary balance before net actuarial losses and gains is intended to supplement the traditional budgetary balance and improve the transparency of the government's financial reporting by isolating the impact of the amortization of net actuarial losses and gains arising from the revaluation of the government's pension and other employee future benefit plans.
Compared to February 2025, revenues fell by $2.8 billion, or 5.5%, largely reflecting lower corporate income-tax revenue and lower pollution-pricing proceeds to be returned to Canadians. These drops were partially offset by higher other revenues, the Fiscal Monitor said. Program expenses excluding net actuarial losses were down $1.1 billion, or 2.8%, as a decrease related to the timing of major transfers to provinces, territories and municipalities was partly offset by higher major transfers to persons and direct program expenses.
For the April 2025 to February 2026 period, the government posted a budgetary deficit of $25.5 billion, compared to a deficit of $19.3 billion reported for the same period of 2024-25. Revenue rose by $3.4 billion, or 0.8%, "largely reflecting increases in customs import duties due to the countermeasures imposed in response to U.S. tariffs, personal and corporate income tax revenues, and other revenues", the government said.
However program expenses excluding actuarial losses rose by $8.8% in the 2025/26 period "mainly reflecting
increases in major transfers to persons and direct program expenses, offset in part by the wind-down of the
Canada Carbon Rebate".