Economic uncertainty is gripping Canada as the Liberal government spirals out of control and a massive yearly deficit was disclosed.
Canada鈥檚 former Finance Minister abruptly resigned from Cabinet in a scathing letter sent to the Prime Minister, just hours before she was to table the Fall Economic Statement. The Liberal government House Leader tabled the Fall Economic Statement in the House of Commons, and then left without comment or debate.
In last year鈥檚 budget, the Liberal Finance Minister made a promise to Canadians: that the deficit will not rise above a $40 billion guardrail. We now know this year鈥檚 deficit is $62 billion 鈥 55% higher. There is no government in the history of Canada that has ever run a deficit this large.
This deficit is bad news, especially when considering the already worrying numbers when it comes to Canada鈥檚 debt.
Canada鈥檚 federal debt is now estimated to be over $1.24 trillion. The net federal debt per person is now over $33,000.
The federal government has borrowed so much, that this year, they had to raise the federal debt ceiling from $1.83 trillion to $2.13 trillion. This increase is drastic, even for this government as in 2021 the debt ceiling was $1.16 trillion.
It only took this Prime Minister nine years to incur more debt than every other Prime Minister in Canada鈥檚 history combined. When he took office in 2015, the debt was $616 billion 鈥 half of what it is now.
This government has incurred massive yearly deficits including outside of pandemic years鈥 spending. And even then, $205 billion was for 鈥渘on-COVID-19 measures,鈥 according to the Parliamentary Budget Officer.
As a result of these substantial increases, the interest we must pay in servicing our accrued debt has increased to over $53 billion annually. Just like with a credit card, the more the government borrows, the more interest must be paid servicing the accrued debt.
As a comparison, that鈥檚 more than the total amount collected from GST ($52 billion) and more than the total amount spent on government services, including: Employment Insurance (EI) Benefits ($26.6 billion); The Canada Child Benefit ($29.6 billion); or Provincial healthcare transfers ($52.1 billion).
Despite all this borrowing, the lack of sound fiscal and economic policies has seen the Canadian economy deteriorate.
Even the former Liberal Finance Minister had enough of the Prime Minister鈥檚 spending demands and resigned, calling Liberal measures 鈥渃ostly political gimmicks.鈥
After nine years of this government, Canadians are poorer and life costs more.
Canada鈥檚 GDP per capita fell by 3% the last four years, meaning there is less money to go around for more people. As a comparison, GDP per capita went up in the U.S. The Canadian dollar has now sunk to $.69 USD as of December 18, 2024, which means anything imported from the U.S. costs more, including food, appliances and construction supplies.
Fewer people want to invest in Canada due to government red tape and tax increases like the carbon tax and capital gains tax. Canada needs a real plan to stop the spending and fix the budget.
Conservatives will:
1) Stop all planned tax hikes, especially the job-killing carbon tax hike. We will also axe the federal (GST) tax for most first time homebuyers.
2) Stop fueling inflation, by cutting wasteful inflationary spending on funding large ticket items like expensive consultants, corporate welfare and the infrastructure bank in China.
3) Stop adding debt, by implementing a dollar-for-dollar rule requiring all new federal spending be offset with an equal amount of savings.
These are real solutions to fix the budget and ensure we are not passing down increasing debt to younger generations.
Additionally, I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, and Happy Holidays. I鈥檇 like to encourage everyone to do what we can to support our neighbours, businesses, and organizations helping people in our community. Let鈥檚 strive to embody the spirit of 黑料社入口-Lake Country through our generosity if we are able, including with time. I hope you enjoy this time with friends and family.
Feel free to reach out to me if you have thoughts to share on the state of Canada鈥檚 debt.
Please reach out to 250-470-5075 or tracy.gray@parl.gc.ca if have any thoughts to share – on this issue or others - or if you need assistance with any federal programs.
Tracy Gray is 黑料社入口-Lake Country MP
