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The federal government logged a $1.8 trillion budget deficit for the 2025 fiscal year, little changed from 2024 despite a surge in tariff revenue, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Mark Carney’s task is to convince Canadians and opposition lawmakers that his planned spending will eventually boost the resilience and productive capacity of the economy.

Customs duties hit $30 billion last month, marking a 296% surge over August last year, the Treasury Department reported. At the same time, the monthly budget deficit came in at $345 billion.

The country’s trade shortfall with the world was C$4.9 billion ($3.5 billion) in July, according to Statistics Canada data released Sept. 4.

The surge in imports was driven by industrial supplies, which rose to the highest level in four months amid a surge in inbound shipments of gold.

The shift in fortunes began during President Donald Trump’s trade war with China in his first term, with the initial annual deficits recorded in 2019 and 2020.

The U.S. merchandise-trade deficit unexpectedly widened in May on the biggest drop in exports since the onset of the pandemic, while imports were little changed.

The U.S. trade deficit narrowed in April by the most on record on the largest-ever plunge in imports, illustrating an abrupt end to the massive front-loading of goods by some companies.

The U.S. trade deficit widened to a record in March as companies rushed to import products as the Trump administration readied sweeping tariffs.

The U.S. trade deficit widened to a record in January as companies scrambled to secure goods from overseas before President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on the largest U.S. trading partners.