Ontario budget deficit projected to jump to $38.5 billion in 2020-2021
Posted August 12, 2020 8:07 am.
TORONTO — Ontario is projecting its budget deficit will jump to $38.5 billion this year due to COVID-19.
The government revised the projection upward in a fiscal update provided today at the provincial legislature.
The previous fiscal update delivered in March projected the deficit would reach $20.5 billion in 2020-2021.
The increase is attributed to higher spending in the health-care sector, economic stimulus measures, and billions less in revenue.
In March, the province announced a $17-billion spending package to provide aid during the global pandemic.
The government now says its COVID-19 relief spending will total $30 billion by the end of the fiscal year.