TORONTO, April 11 (Reuters) - Ontario’s Conservative government, presenting its first budget on Thursday, forecast a smaller deficit for the Canadian province in the current fiscal year and a return to balance in 2023 to 2024 as it revealed plans to cut growth in spending.

Canada’s most populous province has projected to run a deficit of C$10.3 billion ($7.7 billion) in fiscal 2019-20, which began on April 1, compared with an estimated deficit of C$11.7 billion in 2018 to 2019, the budget presented by Finance Minister Vic Fedeli showed. ($1 = 1.3372 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Fergal Smith; editing by Jonathan Oatis)