WINNIPEG — The Manitoba government ran a higher-than-expected deficit in the last fiscal year and is on track to miss its target again this year, according to documents released Friday by the Finance department.
The government finished the fiscal year that ended March 31 with a deficit of $1.1 billion — $353 million more than it originally planned.
The higher deficit occurred despite the government getting hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue from a nationwide legal settlement, reached in the spring, that saw major tobacco companies agree to pay provinces, territories and former smokers for tobacco-related health costs.
The higher deficit was also driven in part by overspending in health care and anticipated legal liabilities in the Families department. Finance Minister Adrien Sal