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Morneau acknowledged that his March 22 budget would be the launching point for a string of deficits — beginning in the current fiscal 2016-17 — to fund infrastructure projects and stimulate economic growth.

“The government before us left us with a deficit. What they will find is that, as with previous years, revenues go down and expenses go up at the end of the year,” he said during Question Period. “When you take out the measures that we’ve put in, what you find is that the previous government (still) left us with a deficit.”

Morneau’s comments followed last week’s report from the Finance Department that showed the country ended fiscal 2015-16 with a smaller deficit than previously forecast — and not with a surplus, as the former Conservative government has argued.

The Fiscal Monitor, which officially tracks federal finances, estimates that last year’s shortfall was $1.9 billion — although that is still much smaller than the $5.4-billion deficit forecast in the Liberal budget.

Even so, the final budget tally may not be known for months to come, given the time lag in receiving revenues and calculating expenditures.

Morneau has argued that the expenses side of the ledger traditionally rises at tail end of the year. In fact, the Fiscal Monitor still showed a surplus of $7.5 billion in February. But that quickly changed into a negative reading.

Regardless, the minister told Parliament that the Liberals “will make a real difference for Canadians in the future — improving our country through improved growth.”