The PCs say they’ve knocked $1-billion off the province’s deficit.

Finance Minister Vic Fedeli says a lot of it is thanks to Doug Ford’s “open for business and open for jobs agenda.”

“It’s already paying dividends,” explained Fedeli. “More businesses are investing. More people are working and as a result our province’s bottom line is improving. All [of] this without raising taxes by one single cent.”

The deficit is now projected to be $13.5-billion for the 2018-2019 fiscal year.

“The third quarter finances show that our government’s plan to get Ontario back on track is yielding positive results,” said Fedeli. “By working to restore the public’s confidence in Ontario’s finances, cutting red tape and being open for business and open for jobs, we are giving people across Ontario more confidence in our future and this confidence is reflected on the bottom line.”

The opposition parties have accused the PCs of inflating the deficit so they can justify program and service cuts.

“The Ford government is releasing inflated deficit numbers to justify an austerity agenda,” said Liberal Finance Critic Mitzie Hunter. “The Ford Conservatives love to take credit for all positive economic news. Ontario’s economy is strong with record unemployment inherited from the previous government. Doug Ford shouldn’t be talking it down for political points.”

The updated third quarter numbers were announced Wednesday morning. The fiscal third quarter spans October 1 to December 31.