Canadian public debt
The Canadian government debt, commonly called the "public debt" or the "national debt", is the amount of money owed by the Government of Canada to holders of Canadian Treasury security. "Gross debt" is the national debt plus intragovernmental debt obligations or debt held by trust funds. Types of securities sold by the government include treasury bills, notes, bonds, TIPS, Canada Savings Bonds, and provincial government securities.
The annual government "deficit" is the difference between government receipts and spending.
Revenue and spending
History
Canada’s federal debt grew steadily between 5% and 10% per year until 1975. For the next 12 years it grew on average over 20% per year. It surpassed $100 billion in 1981, $200 billion in 1985, $300 billion in 1988, $400 billion in 1992, and $500 billion in 1994. It peaked at $563 billion in 1997. The debt then declined to $458 billion by 2008.
With the recession, the federal debt grew by $5.8 billion in 2008-09 and is expected to grow by $55.9 billion in 2009-10.
| End of Fiscal Year |
Net Debt $Billions[1] |
as % of GDP |
GDP $Billions[2] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | 14.8 | 33.0% | 44.9 |
| 1971 | 20.3 | 20.6% | 98.4 |
| 1981 | 91.9 | 25.5% | 360.5 |
| 1991 | 377.7 | 55.1% | 685.4 |
| 1997 | 562.9 | 63.8% | 882.7 |
| 2002 | 511.9 | 44.4% | 1,152.9 |
| 2008 | 457.6 | 28.5% | 1,603.4 |
| 2009 | 463.7 | 30.3% | 1,529.0 |
| 2010 | 519.1 | 31.9% | 1,624.6 |
| 2011 | 551.4 | 32.1% | 1,718.7 |
| 2012 (projected) | 586.0 | ||
| 2013 (projected) | 605.0 |
Foreign ownership
![[icon]](/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2011) |
In 1960, 4% of the Canadian government debt was held by foreign investors.[3]
Debt clocks
 | This article needs to be updated. (December 2011) |
In 1993, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation commissioned the construction of a giant debt clock – 12 feet long by 8-and-a-half feet high – with changeable faceplates for the federal and each provincial government. The clock displayed the per-second increase in debt along with the share for each Canadian family. The clock was toured around the country. The clock went into temporary retirement once the federal government balanced the budget in 1997 and began paying down the federal debt.
In fiscal 2008-09 the debt clock climbed by $183.92 per second, taking federal debt up to $463.7 billion. After April 1, 2009, the clock, and the federal debt began growing by $1,772.57 per second, which is the equivalent of $106,355 per minute, $6.4 million per hour, or $153 million each day.
Calculating and projecting the debt
Canada has changed its calculation in 2002-2003 for net debt, before, the net debt was the total liabilities minus total assets, now it is the total liabilities minus financial assets, as the government prefers the concept of "accumulated deficit", which corresponds to the old definition of net debt.
See also
General:
International:
References
- ^ Canada's Debt History Canadian Taxpayers Foundation
- ^ [http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.KN
- ^ Safaraian, A.E. The Hegemony of International Business, 1945-1970, Volume IV: Foreign Ownership of Canadian Industry. New York: Routledge, 1973. 12.