The coronavirus pandemic sweeping the globe could send Canadian unemployment rates soaring to 15 per cent by the end of the year, a new forecast by the parliamentary budget watchdog suggests. [ Sign up for our Health IQ newsletter for the latest coronavirus updates ] At the same time, the federal deficit could spike to $117 billion by the next fiscal year.
The current federal deficit sits at roughly $26.6 billion while the national unemployment rate in February was 5.6 per cent.