Ontario 2010/2011 Budget Deficit Lower Than Expected

The Star has an article about the Ontario budget deficit situation. Good news that the deficit for the fiscal year ending at the end of March is only 14 billion, lower than expected. I'd be curious to see the breakdown in terms of where the smaller deficit came from? Lower spending or more revenue including more HST revenue.

An ominous quote about this fiscal year's deficit: "But Duncan said in an interview that this fiscal year's deficit is still projected to come in at $16 billion, slightly higher than the actual figure for last year."

Considering that the first quarter of this fiscal year (this past April to June period) is looking weak, judging by the federal number and the fact that the US is looking especially weak going forward (which is more important for Ontario than for other provinces), could Ontario's deficit go up? Very possible, although with the election, whoever wins will have a bit of control over it, but not much. If Hudak wins, expect him to stuff whatever he can in this year's budget to make subsequent budget deficits look better.