Ontario: Budget 2021. The Fight against the Damaging Effects of COVID-19 Is Still a Priority

The financial projections in the 2021 Budget are fairly similar to those in the 2020 Budget tabled in November. Generally speaking, revenue growth is now slightly more favourable. This improvement is, however, offset by more sustained growth in expenditures, such that the new projections for the Ontario government’s budget balance are virtually identical to those presented in November. Therefore, after an $8.7B deficit in 2019–2020, the 2020–2021 fiscal year should end with a $38.5B deficit. This significant deterioration obviously stems from the damaging effects of COVID‑19 on the provincial government’s revenues and expenditures.