QUESTION PERIOD — Finance
Interest Costs on Federal Debt
October 21, 2026
Government leader, the Parliamentary Budget Officer has confirmed that debt charges are the country’s fastest-growing expense at over $1 billion per week. This is truly a case of willful blindness. We are currently in a situation where the government is spending more on debt interest than on health care transfers.
When will the government stop mortgaging the future of young Canadians?
Canada is in a very enviable economic position, perhaps the most enviable of all the G7 countries. When the government makes decisions, it does so to improve the lives of Canadians, particularly given the current geopolitical situation, where we are facing significant challenges in our trade with the United States. The government is making decisions to guarantee the quality of jobs in Canada and to support families, especially when it comes to affordability, housing, employment assistance and assistance in all other areas related to social welfare.
In light of the current international situation, decisions must be made. Governing is about making decisions. The government is making bold decisions that will ensure that, with our economic capacity, we will be able to get the public finances back in order and —
Thank you, Senator Moreau.
Government leader, for most Canadians and most senators, $1 billion a week in order to service a debt doesn’t sound like a success story. That’s number one. Number two, the Prime Minister replaced the previous prime minister, and we have now had 11 years of Liberal governments with no fiscal anchors that they respected. But we assume that the new Prime Minister, with his fantastic CV, has promised more success, but he doesn’t seem to respect fiscal anchors either. The Parliamentary Budget Officer is saying that Canada has a problem and that we are spending more now on interest on —
Thank you, Senator Housakos.
Having the best fiscal situation among the G7 countries is a measure of success, Senator Housakos. I’m sorry you don’t recognize that. Over the last 10 years, there have been several general elections, and each time Canadians prefer a Liberal government over a Conservative government. It means that in the last 10 or 11 years, something good must have been done by the government.
