Ontario's Progressive Conservative government says it has cut the province's deficit by $500 million, bringing the figure down to $14.5 billion in its first few months in office.
The change is announced in the government's Fall Economic Statement for 2018-2019, its first major fiscal update since winning the spring election.
The government says it has made progress on cutting the deficit by finding $3.2 billion in efficiencies in operations, including a hiring freeze across the public service.
But the government says it is taking in $2.7 billion less in revenue in the fiscal year, including $1.5 billion attributed to the cancellation of cap and trade.
The Tories had said the previous Liberal government left a $15 billion deficit, a figure disputed by critics.
The fiscal update also promises to eliminate provincial income tax for those earning less than $30,000 a year.
It also pledges to expand hours of operation at Beer Store and LCBO outlets across the province, allowing them to open seven days a week until 11 p.m.