Canada recorded a slightly higher C$16.09 billion ($11.52 billion) budget deficit for the first six months of the 2025/26 fiscal year as government expenditures grew faster than revenues, the finance ministry said on Friday. By comparison, the deficit in the same period a year earlier had been C$13.01 billion, it said in a statement. Program expenses rose 4.2% on increases across almost all major categories of spending. Public debt charges fell by 2.2% largely because of lower interest rates, the ministry said.