Huge jump in the Ontario budget

Ontario says the provincial deficit will jump to $38.5 billion this year due to spending on  COVID-19.

The numbers released today represented a jump from the  $20.5 billion that had been forecast in March at the beginning of the pandemic.

The increase is attributed to higher spending in the health-care sector, economic stimulus measures, and billions of lost revenue due to the shutdown of the economy.

In March, the province announced a $17-billion spending package to provide aid during the global pandemic. The government now says its COVID-19 relief spending will total $30 billion by the end of the fiscal year.