Deficit lower than expected, province says

The New Brunswick government has closed the books on the last fiscal year, with a slightly lower-than-expected deficit for 2014-15.

Finance Minister Roger Melanson said in a statement that the deficit ended up at $388.6 million, $2.5 million lower than forecast in the previous Progressive Conservative government's final budget.

But it's also much higher than the $255 million deficit the Liberals were forecasting earlier in the year.

The close-to-the-target outcome masks some big shifts in both revenues and expenses.

The province brought in $304 million more in revenue than it expectedbecause of unusually high federal transfers of tax revenues, and higher than expected revenue from NB Power, Melanson said in his statement.

But the province also spent $301.5 million more than planned, including $229 million to cover the cost of shifting the New Brunswick Teachers Pension Plan to a new model.

The deficit helps boostthe province's cumulative debt to $12.4 billion.