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This article was published 29/9/2016 (1454 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Greg Selinger's NDP government left Manitoba with an $846-million deficit, not the $1-billion-plus number the Tories claimed after winning last spring's election, audited statements released Thursday reveal.

After taking office in May, the Pallister government said the province's books were in far worse shape than its predecessor had indicated. In his spring budget, Finance Minister Cameron Friesen estimated last year's summary deficit at $1.011 billion.

The outgoing government's last fiscal update on March 8 pegged the 2015-16 summary deficit at $773 million. The official statements released Thursday — known as the public accounts — show that number was much closer to the mark than the Progressive Conservatives projected.

Asked about the inaccurate forecast, Friesen said the NDP did a far worse job in forecasting the province's finances. He noted the original deficit estimate was $422 million when the previous government unveiled its 2015-2016 budget.

"The NDP government more than doubled the deficit that they projected in their own 2015 budget," the minister told reporters. "The NDP more than missed their target by more than $400 million."

He said higher than expected revenues in some areas and lower crop insurance payouts to farmers were among the reasons for the improved financial picture.

The NDP opposition accused the Pallister government of misleading Manitobans by inflating the 2015 deficit this spring for political reasons.

NDP MLA James Allum said the PCs overstated the deficit figure as justification to cut services to families.

"The official audit shows their number was nowhere near the truth," Allum said. "The only reason for inflating the number by $166 million was to justify their plan to cut services that families rely on."

Last year, total revenues were $15.054 billion, while expenses totalled $15.9 billion, the official results show.

The most significant factors driving the increased deficit were a $357-million increase (above budget) in health and education spending, $39 million in additional Family Services Department expenses and a $98-million increase in Justice Department and other government expenses.

Summary budgeting includes core government departments, as well as performance of other reporting entities such as regional health authorities, Crown corporations and school divisions.

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca