Canada’s Ballooning Debt and What the Parties Are Saying

The Confederation Building reflects off the windows of a building in downtown Ottawa in a file photo. The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick

Although Canada’s main parties have touched on the topic of the country’s increasing debt, it hasn’t so far been a main focus of the election campaign.

And while the U.S. tariffs on Canadian products may be getting most of the attention on the campaign trail—and as the tariffs add to the challenge of balancing the budget in Canada—the Trump administration itself has made debt reduction a priority and has even created a new department to help achieve that by cutting spending.

Assessing the Debt Level

Large levels of debt, especially at times of higher interest rates, mean governments have less money for tax cuts or for spending on support programs.