Skip to main content

“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.” ~~ John G. Diefenbaker

Canada’s combined federal-provincial debt will reach $1.5 trillion in 2019/20


Since 2007 / 08, the year before the last recession, combined federal and provincial debt has grown from $837.0 billion to a projected $1.5 trillion in 2019/20, finds a new study released today by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank.

“Government debt — federally and in every province—has grown over the past 12 years, creating serious fiscal challenges for Ottawa and many provincial governments,” said Jake Fuss, economist at the Fraser Institute and co-author of The Growing Debt Burden for Canadians.

The study also finds that in 2019 / 20, Canada’s projected combined government debt (again, the federal debt and the provincial debt of all 10 provinces) will equal 64.3 percent of the Canadian economy.

On a per-person basis, the combined debt in 2019 / 20 will equal $39,483 for every Canadian.

Among the provinces, Ontario’s combined government debt in 2019 / 20 will equal 75.4per cent of Ontario’s economy —the highest percentage in Canada. In other words, it would take three out of every four dollars in Ontario’s economy to eliminate the province’s combined government debt.

Ontario also has the highest combined debt ($668.5 billion) and the second-highest combined debt per person ($45,891), second only to Newfoundland and Labrador ($48,478).


Interest payments are a major consequence of debt accumulation. Governments must make interest payments on their debt similar to households that must pay interest on borrowing related to mortgages, vehicles, or credit card spending.

Revenues directed towards interest payments mean that there is less money available for tax cuts or government programs such as health care, education, and social services.

“As budget season approaches, governments across Canada should remember that deficits and debt today ultimately mean higher taxes tomorrow,” Fuss said.

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

WARD STAMER: “Hopefully he’s actually listening to what people have to say, and not just showing up for a photo op”

In his latest travels across the province, BC Forest Minister Ravi Parmar touched down in the Okanagan. A trip essentially, he said, to be on the ground meeting industry people. I read what he had to say, and about how he has been tasked with getting more timber to market. Let me start by saying, “ He hasn’t been tasked. He and Premier Eby guaranteed 45 million cubic metres of available wood fibre – they guaranteed that .” BC Timber Sales is a government agency within the provincial forest’s ministry, which is responsible for managing a portion of the province's Crown timber; specifically, 20 percent of the province's annual allowable cut. Unfortunately, BC Timber Sales did not provide anywhere near that amount last year, it was just 12.2 percent. Three years ago, BC mills cut 52 million metres of wood, bringing in nearly $2 billion dollars to the provincial treasury. That figure doesn’t include the taxes from 55,700 people directly employed in the industry, nor from the tens o...
Post a Comment
Read more

Conservative Opposition demonstrates focused and policy-oriented approach in first four weeks of the legislative session

In the first four weeks of the legislative session, the Conservative Official Opposition has scored significant policy wins as it proves every day that the Conservative team has fresh ideas and real-world experience to bring to the table. At the same time, the NDP government has been listless, struggling to find a policy agenda that addresses the problems that British Columbians are facing. “This NDP government led by David Eby has tried to do everything under the sun to distract from their disastrous fiscal record and the fact that they are utterly out of ideas,” said Conservative Opposition Leader John Rustad. “They’ve tried to use the U.S. President to deflect from their eye-popping $11 billion deficit, the worst business confidence in the country, and the fact that they’ve created almost zero private sector jobs. This is no way to run a province or an economy.” Since the legislative session started on February 18th with the Throne Speech, the opposition...
Post a Comment
Read more

Conservative Party of BC Calls for Coroner’s Inquest in the Death of Chantelle Williams

  Chantelle Williams/Facebook “Somebody has to come out and tell the truth on what happened and who’s at fault” ~~ Martin Watts, Uncle of Chantelle Williams The Conservative Party of BC is urgently calling for a coroner’s inquest into the death of 18-year-old Indigenous youth Chantelle Williams, who tragically died under the care of Usma Nuu-chah-nulth Family and Child Services, an agency of the Ministry of Children and Family Development. Her family is disturbed by the lack of transparency and unanswered questions surrounding her final moments, and are seeking answers on who was responsible for her care and supervision and why no one noticed she was missing until it was too late. Chantelle was found unresponsive in Port Alberni in the early morning of January 28, 2025. She was later pronounced dead in the hospital. Temperatures had dropped below –7°C the night of her death. Her family is demanding clarity on the circumstances that led to her untimely passing, and they demand answ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Labels

Show more