(Ottawa) The federal government is posting a surplus of $1.7 billion for the first six months of its 2022-2023 fiscal year.
In its Monthly Fiscal Review, the Department of Finance said Friday that its surplus for the April-September period compared with a deficit of $68.6 billion for the same period last year.
Government revenues rose by $32.8 billion during those six months, representing an 18.6% growth over the same period last year, which the government attributed to “a general improvement source of income”.
In addition, program spending fell by 17.9%, or $40.3 billion, mainly due to the end of temporary relief measures relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rising interest rates and inflation fueled public debt charges, which rose 47.8% year on year, or $5.6 billion, in the first half of the current fiscal year.
Net actuarial losses decreased by 2.8 billion, or 36.1%.