Leave a comment
Not only did the population of the world reach a record 7 billion people on October 31, 2011, but the Canadian Federal Debt also reached an all-time high. Based on economic forecasts, the Federal Debt (accumulated deficit) reached $568 billion on October 31st. The total Federal interest-bearing debt at March 31, 2011 was $801.8 billion or $23,241 for every person in Canada, significantly higher than the Federal Debt (accumulated deficit) reported in the table below. To see how the accumulated deficit is calculated, see the Department of Finance report Outstanding Debt at Year-End.
| Year | Federal Debt $billions |
Debt as % of GDP |
Population millions |
Debt per person $ |
| 1967 | $17.7 | 27.3% | 20.0 | $885 |
| 1971 | 20.3 | 22.5% | 21.6 | 941 |
| 1976 | 34.6 | 19.9% | 23.5 | 1,476 |
| 1981 | 91.9 | 29.2% | 24.8 | 3,705 |
| 1986 | 227.8 | 46.9% | 26.1 | 8,728 |
| 1991 | 377.7 | 55.5% | 28.0 | 13,473 |
| 1997 | 562.9 | 67.3% | 30.0 | 18,771 |
| 2001 | 520.0 | 48.3% | 31.0 | 16,762 |
| 2006 | 481.5 | 35.0% | 32.6 | 14,781 |
| 2007 | 467.3 | 32.2% | 32.9 | 14,190 |
| 2008 | 457.6 | 29.9% | 33.3 | 13,736 |
| 2009 | 463.7 | 28.9% | 33.7 | 13,760 |
| 2010 | 519.1 | 34.0% | 34.1 | 15,223 |
| 2011 | 550.3 | 33.9% | 34.5 | 15,952 |
| Dept of Finance Projections: | ||||
| 2012 | 585.2 | 34.2% | ||
| 2013 | 612.7 | 34.4% | ||
| 2014 | 629.7 | 33.8% | ||
| 2015 | 637.2 | 32.8% | ||
| 2016 | 640.6 | 31.5% | 38.4 | 16,682 |
| 2017 | 640.0 | 30.2% | ||
The Federal Debt above is the accumulated deficit as reported in the Department of Finance Fiscal Reference Tables, Table 15 Gross and Net Debt. These amounts are as at March 31st of each year. The % of GDP is based on the GDP at Market Prices (Statistics Canada V498074) for the prior calendar year. For instance, the 2011 % of GDP is based on the 2010 GDP. The amounts for the GDP are obtained from Statistics Canada table for Gross Domestic Product, Income-Based. The population figures, which are as of July 31 of each year, are obtained from Statistics Canada Population by Year, by Province and Territory. The projected population for 2016 is from Statistics Canada Projected Population by Age Group. The Federal Debt for 2012 to 2017 are projections included in the Update of Economic and Fiscal Projections published by the Department of Finance on November 8, 2011. The % of GDP for these years is based on the projected GDP figures included in the same update.