The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on the prime minister to cut spending after raising the alarm on the increasing per Canadian cost of servicing the federal debt.
“The PBO’s report shows that paying interest charges on the government debt will cost each Canadian about $1,400 this year,” Franco Terrazzano, CTF federal director, said in a news release this week. “That’s $1,400 that the government is taking from each Canadian that can’t be used to hire nurses, fix potholes or lower taxes because the government is wasting that money paying interest on the debt.”
The CTF pointed to the latest Parliamentary Budget Officer report , released on Monday, as evidence for its case to the Prime Minister Mark Carney.
“The interest burden, measured as public debt charges as a share of revenues, is broadly unchanged compared with Budget 2025,” the PBO report stated, “but still showing a concerning upward track.”
The report also said that Ottawa “expects (public debt charges) will rise from 10.6 per cent to 13.2 per cent of revenues between 2025-26 and 2030-31.”
And, significantly, on a “per capita basis, public debt charges are projected to climb from $1,409 in 2026-27 to $1,901 in 2030-31 reflecting low population growth and (rising debt).” Each Canadian’s share of the total federal debt will rise from $33,592 this year to $38,295 in 2030.
The prime minister “needs to reverse course and put down the credit card,” said Terrazzano.
Ottawa’s Spring Economic Update showed debt interest charges will cost taxpayers $58.7 billion this year, said Terrazzano. “That’s more than the federal government will send to the provinces in health transfers or collect through the GST.”
“Debt interest payments continue to spiral out of control because spending continues to spiral out of control,” he said. “Carney just released his budget six months ago and he’s already on track to spend $6 billion over budget.”
In Budget 2025, noted the PBO, the federal government contended that it would use available fiscal room for investments that will grow the economy over the long-term, while ensuring the debt-to-GDP ratio remains stable, despite higher deficits.
“The Government argued that it would use available fiscal room for investments that will grow the economy over the long-term, while ensuring that the debt-to-GDP ratio remains stable, despite higher deficits,” the report states.
However, the PBO is cautious and noted that “debts remain repayable” independent of the success of objectives intended to spark economic growth. “Parliamentarians may wish to press for more comprehensive reporting (on implementation).”
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