Financial Accountability Office of Ontario says the province’s economic growth is expected to slow sharply this year, with a modest recovery early next year.
FAO’s The Economic and Budget Outlook report projects a deficit of $2.5 billion in 2022–2023, but says the billion-dollar surplus will improve through the remaining years of its projection to 2026–27.
The province said in its fall economic statement that it projected a deficit of about $13 billion this year and a smaller deficit over the next two years.
The FAO says the difference between its projections and the government’s projections is due to the Accountability Office’s lower expenditure projection combined with a higher revenue projection.
It says the province will have an additional $12.5 billion in funding over the next three years.
But the FAO says there is a $5 billion funding shortfall in the health care sector and $1.1 billion in education over that period.