Deficit to Reach $68.5 Billion: Budget Watchdog

Jason Jacques, Interim Parliamentary Budget Officer appears at the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Sept. 16, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

The Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) estimates that the deficit for the next federal budget will increase “sharply” to $68.5 billion.

In his economic outlook published Sept. 25, PBO Jason Jacques projects the government’s budget, set to be introduced on Nov. 4, will show the deficit is up from $51.7 billion in the 2024-25 fiscal year to $68.5 billion in 2025-26. This means the budgetary deficit would increase from 1.7 percent of GDP to 2.2 percent.