A new analysis of Canada’s indebtedness shows that during Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s time in office, the national debt has doubled to over $1.232 trillion.
Calculations done by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation revealed that the country is in much worse shape than before the Liberals took over on several fronts.
While the debt officially doubled on Aug. 30, food insecurity has more than doubled, housing costs have increased by around 63%, and crime has increased too.
Trudeau took office in Nov. 2015, when Canada’s federal debt was $616 billion. To double the debt, it had to reach $1.232 trillion.
By 2023/24, the federal debt reached $1.215 trillion. According to CTF analysis, the debt increases by $39.8 billion annually, or $109 million daily.
Therefore, to double the debt, 2023/24’s debt value needed to increase by $16.5 billion, which, based on the daily increase, occurred on Aug. 30, 2024.
“Trudeau doubling the entire federal debt in less than a decade shows just how irresponsible his runaway spending is,” said Franco Terrazzano, federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.
According to the CTF’s federal debt clock, the federal debt costs over $31,000 per Canadian.
Interest charges on the federal debt will cost $54 billion this year, meaning the Liberals are spending more on interest charges than they are sending to provinces in health transfers. The money spent on federal debt interest is the same amount collected through GST. Rather than funding essential services, every penny Canadians pay in GST goes towards paying down interest on the federal debt.
“Trudeau is wasting taxpayers’ money today, and he is sticking Canadians’ kids and grandkids with huge tax bills tomorrow,” said Terrazzano. “After a decade of reckless borrowing, holding the line on spending isn’t enough. Canadians need a government that will cut spending, balance the budget, and get us out of this debt mess.”
According to previous information released by the Parliamentary Budget Officer, the Liberals won’t balance the budget until 2040. In the interim, Canadians will pay $847 billion in interest charges on the debt.
Sharp increases in other areas of concern have accompanied the doubling of the debt.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre shared a post from Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, also known by his X alias, The Food Professor, on Tuesday.
Charlebois highlighted that 4.45 million Canadians were affected by food insecurity in 2015. By 2024, this had risen to 9.39 million Canadians, an increase of 111%.
“The carbon tax on farmers who grow the food & truckers who ship it is a tax on all who buy the food. Now they want to hike the tax — by 300% — to $0.61/L,” said Poilievre. “Taxes up. Costs up. Crime’s up. Time’s up.”
Housing costs followed closely behind in their increase.
In Nov. 2015, the average home in Canada cost around $446,000, according to Trading Economics. By Jul. 2024, the average home price increased to around $719,000, rising around 61%. However, the peak average home price during Trudeau’s tenure was approximately $820,000 in Apr. 2022, an increase of almost 84% since he first took office.
Housing affordability reached an all-time low in Canada in Apr. 2024.
In 2023, Canadians spent more on taxes than food, shelter, and clothing combined.
Crime has seen a slightly lesser increase.
Crime incidents have increased by almost 20%, whereas the rate per 100,000 people has increased by just over 6%.
The severity of crime has seen an alarming increase of just over 14%. However, the severity of violent crimes has seen an increase of 32%.