A new study released by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank, says under Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government, federal gross debt is expected to hit its highest point in Canadian history at $2.35 trillion (inflation adjusted).
Jake Fuss
“The significant increase in federal debt in recent years means more tax dollars will go towards paying interest and future generations are on the hook for today’s spending,” said Jake Fuss, Director of Fiscal Studies with the Fraser Institute and author of Examining Federal Debt in Canada by Prime Ministers Since Confederation, 2025.
“The federal government should pay more attention to its debt accumulation, particularly as today’s deficits represent tomorrow’s taxes.”
The study tracks the debt legacies of every Canadian prime minister since Confederation–how much their governments increased or decreased total federal debt (which includes all federal financial liabilities) during their time in office, after accounting for both inflation and population changes.
According to the study, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government is projected to increase per-person federal debt by 4.2 percent in 2025, increasing federal debt per Canadian to $56,432 (inflation adjusted), the second highest amount in Canadian history (surpassed only by 2021).
“Compare that to other prime ministers who also did not experience a war or recession: only Mackenzie Bowell (4.7 per cent) increased per-person debt more during its tenure than Carney is projected to in his first year. For comparison, Prime Minister Abbot also did not experience a war or recession during his tenure and per-person debt increased by 0.7 per cent. Four other prime ministerial tenures (Joe Clark, Lester Pearson, Paul Martin, and John Macdonald’s first tenure) saw declining per-person debt during a period when there were no world wars or recessions,” said the Institute.
“Among all governments, that of Prime Minister Robert Borden, who governed during the First World War and four years of economic downturn, increased per-person debt levels the most (188.1 per cent). Louis St. Laurent’s lowered the federal per-person debt the most (34.3 per cent), even though his tenure included two recessions.”
Mario Toneguzzi
Mario Toneguzzi is Managing Editor of Canada’s Entrepreneur. He has more than 40 years of experience as a daily newspaper writer, columnist, and editor. He was named in 2021 and 2024 as one of the top business journalists in the world by PR News. He was also named by RETHINK to its global list of Top Retail Experts 2024, 2025 and 2026.
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