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The Doug Ford government has lowered its projected deficit for this fiscal year despite ramping up in-year spending by $1.3 billion.

The 2019 budget in the spring projected a $10.3 billion deficit for 2019/20, but has reduced that figure to $9 billion, including a contingency fund.

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The government has not moved up its date to balance the books which had been set at 2023/24, after the next provincial election.

“Our plan to build Ontario together makes a conscious choice to balance the budget in 2023 so that we can provide the immediate financial relief that families and individuals need, so that we can also make needed investments in critical public services like health care and education,” Finance Minister Rod Phillips said Wednesday on the release of the 2019 Ontario Economic Outlook and Fiscal Review.

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The economic statement confirms the province’s net debt will hit $353.7 billion by the end of this year, the highest in the province’s history and the largest subnational debt in the world.