BRAMPTON, Ont. - Prime Minister Stephen Harper says the federal deficit for the last fiscal year is well below forecast.
The deficit for 2013-14 was predicted to be $16.6 billion, but the prime minister says the number will actually be around $5.2 billion.
The last federal budget forecast that the deficit would slip to $2.9 billion in the 2014-15 fiscal year and climb to a surplus of $6.4 billion the next year.
The latest deficit numbers put Harper's Conservatives well on their way to reaping a surplus just in time for a federal election, scheduled to take place in October 2015.
Key election planks, including an expansion of income splitting for couples with children, are contingent on the government showing a budget surplus.
The government is expected to come up with other goodies to finance the coming campaign, depending on how far in the black the budget moves.
