Since Justin Trudeau became Prime Minister in 2015, the federal per-person debt in Canada has risen by 35.5%to $47,070 (inflation-adjusted), the study found.
Prior to Justin Trudeau becoming Prime Minister, the per-person federal debt sat at $34,791.
The Fraser Institute found that “In 2022, federal per-person debt is projected to be $47,070, which is the third highest amount in Canadian history (behind only 2020 and 2021)”, which “ is more than 25 percent higher than per-person debt before COVID in 2019.”
Fraser says that “After the mid-1990s, debt reduction continued to be a focus for Jean Chrétien, Paul Martin, and Stephen Harper (for the first two years of his tenure).”’
“Federal per-person debt fell to $28,482 in 2007, the lowest value since 1984. However, the 2008 financial crisis in the United States prompted a recession in Canada and federal debt began to sharply increase once again.”
However, the Fraser Institute found that during COVID-19, “the Trudeau government increased federal debt per person to $48,955 by 2021, an increase of 30.3 percent from the level in 2019.”
However, while “federal debt per person is expected to decrease marginally in 2022 to $47,070, this is 25.2 percent higher than the level of debt per person prior to the pandemic.”
Read the entire study from the Fraser Institute here.
