Once new major spending is factored in, the annual deficit is likely to be more than $25 billion.
debt and deficit
The province is facing a nearly $2 billion projected operating deficit.
By the Ontario government’s own count it has 380,000 regulations on the books, twice as many as the next province.
Ontario will run its eighth consecutive budget deficit in 2015/16, with a projected $7.5 billion shortfall.
Since 2007/08, combined federal and provincial government net debt has grown from $834 billion to $1.3 trillion.
On Thursday, Finance Minister Charles Sousa will provide an update for Ontarians on the state of provincial government finances.
Since 1990, Ontario has accumulated nearly $265 billion in net public debt. Put another way, nearly 90 per cent of Ontario’s net public debt has been accumulated over the last 25 years.
The Ontario government's strategy to eliminate the projected $8.5 billion deficit has largely hinged on hoping revenues will grow robustly and eventually catch up to spending increases. This is a risky strategy.
Canada enjoyed an economic and fiscal renaissance starting in the mid-1990s that lasted more than a decade.