OTTAWA, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Canada recorded a higher C$11.07 billion ($7.89 billion) budget deficit for the first five months of the 2025/26 fiscal year as government expenditures grew faster than revenues, the finance ministry said on Friday.

By comparison, the deficit in the same period a year earlier had been C$9.84 billion, it said in a statement.

Sign up here.

Program expenses rose 4.1% on increases across all major categories of spending. Public debt charges fell by 0.8% largely because of lower interest rates on treasury bills, the ministry said.

Year-to-date revenues grew by 2.5%, largely reflecting higher custom import duties due to retaliatory tariffs on the U.S. and corporate and personal income tax revenue.

Custom import duties increased by 156.9% in the April to August period to C$5.79 billion.

On a monthly basis, Canada posted a deficit of C$3.28 billion in August, compared to a C$2.55 billion deficit in August 2024.

($1 = 1.4024 Canadian dollars)

(([email protected] , opens new tab))

Keywords: CANADA BUDGET/

https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/canada-budget-deficit-over-first-five-months-202526-rises-c1107-bln-2025-10-31/