OTTAWA - The federal deficit hit $170.5 billion through the first five months of the government's fiscal year, putting it on a steep trajectory the country's finance minister says is needed to avoid wider economic harm.

The deficit figure from April to August compared to a $5.2-billion deficit recorded in the same period one year earlier, thanks to billions of dollars in spending on emergency aid.

The monthly fiscal monitor from the Finance Department shows the Canada Emergency Response Benefit payments at $58.8 billion and the federal wage subsidy program at $37.4 billion over the five-month stretch.

A further $19.2 billion in spending over that time included money for a business loan program the Liberals have since widened and a rent-relief program for businesses the government plans to revamp.

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says she hopes opposition parties will pass the new measures when the Liberals introduce the needed legislation soon.

Speaking to the Montreal Chamber of Commerce this morning, Freeland says the spending may seem enormous, but doing any less would cost the country much more economically.