Combined Federal-Provincial Debt Projected to Hit $2.18 Trillion This Year

Combined federal and provincial debt in Canada has nearly doubled in the past 16 years, going from $1.18 trillion in the 2007-2008 fiscal year to a projected $2.18 trillion for 2024, according to a newly released report. Although there was a significant rise in debt levels in 2020 associated with pandemic spending, debt has long been a problem in Canada, said the report from the Fraser Institute. Ottawa has chosen to run deficits since the onset of the global financial crisis of 2007-2008, resulting in an 85 percent increase in Canada’s combined public debt. The combined federal and provincial debt will create “serious fiscal challenges for Ottawa and provincial governments in the years ahead,” Fraser Institute director of fiscal studies Jake Fuss said in a press release on the report. “It’s important for Canadians to understand the magnitude of the country’s combined government debt because deficits and debt today result in higher taxes in the future.”...