By The Canadian Press

Federal Deficit Expected to Exceed $20B by Budget Time

Feb 22, 2016 | 7:56 AM

OTTAWA: The Finance Department says Ottawa will run a deficit of at least $18.4 billion next year, nearly five times its $3.9-billion projection just three months ago.

That means the shortfall could well exceed $20 billion once the Liberal government’s big-ticket election promises are factored in.

The government is also predicting a $15.5-billion deficit in 2017-18 more than six times its estimate last fall of $2.4 billion.

The estimates released today do not include billions of dollars in Liberal spending commitments that are expected in the upcoming federal budget, such as infrastructure investments.

The Liberals are banking on some of their spending vows to help revive economic growth and create jobs in Canada’s struggling economy.

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The calculations are based on an average projected oil price of $40 for 2016, down from $54 in the government’s fall update, and projected growth of 1.4 per cent, down from two per cent in the fall.