Shocker. The Ontario government is forecasting that it will beat its deficit forecast -- for the seventh year in a row . The deficit for this year is forecast in t he province's Fall Economic Outlook and Fiscal Review to be $1 billion less than forecast in the spring 2015 Budget . The forecast for next year is already $300 million less than in the 2015 Budget. That would make eight years in a row. For this year, the decline in the deficit was driven by higher than expected revenue ($1.245 billion more revenue, primarily due to an underestimation of revenue from the Hydro sell-off and $600 million higher than forecast revenue from personal income and land transfer taxes). Lower than expected interest expense on debt ($140 million) has also helped. Program spending however is $397 million higher than expected. The major in-year increases in spending compared with the 2015 Budget are in two areas, the Hydro privatization and the new Green Investment Fund:
Notes from Leftwords -- Doug Allan