Canada revises lower last year's budget deficit

Canada's fiscal 2013-2014 budget deficit was less than one-third of an original estimate announced in February, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Thursday. The prime minister told a business audience in Brampton, Ontario that the figure has been revised downward to Can$5.2 billion (US $4.7 billion).
Thus Canada is likely to also beat its budget projections for this year and next. But Harper did not specify how much bigger this year's much-anticipated surplus could be. After coming to power in 2006, the Conservatives posted two back-to-back budget surpluses before the global recession hit and the government racked up a record deficit. A deficit of Can$2.9 billion (US $2.6 billion) was forecast in the February budget for fiscal 2014-2015, followed by a Can$6.9 billion (US $6.3 billion) surplus the following fiscal year.