Deficit Smaller Than Expected, but Trudeau Stands by Controversial Tax Changes

Scheer says changes amount to a cash grab that will hurt businesses

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks about the deficit and the Liberals' proposed tax changes at a news conference in Ottawa on Sept. 19, 2017. The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick

OTTAWA—Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sounded a defiant note on Sept. 19 as he promised to press ahead with the Liberal government’s controversial tax changes even as clear new evidence emerged to show a Canadian economy on the rebound.

The Finance Department says the federal government ran a smaller deficit than the $23 billion forecast in the spring budget, ending the 2016-17 fiscal year with an actual deficit of $17.8 billion.