OTTAWA - Statistics Canada says governments at all levels racked up a collective surplus of $29 billion in the fiscal year ending March 31, a billion more than in 2006.
It's only the second time in 20 years that the combined surplus -- covering federal, provincial, territorial and municipal governments and the Canada and Quebec pension plans -- has been that high.
The governments together collected $603 billion and spent $575 billion, .
About 72 per cent of the spending went to health, education, social services and debt charges.
Education spending rose 10.2 per cent to $90 billion last year, the largest annual percentage increase among the four components, while health spending was up 7.9 per cent to $107 billion.
However, the report says health spending jumped 39 per cent over the last five years, the highest increase among the four.
