QUESTION PERIOD — Finance
Fiscal Management
June 11, 2026
Senator Moreau, Appendix G of the Parliamentary Budget Officer’s June 2026 Economic and Fiscal Outlook shows federal market debt rising from $1.47 trillion in 2024-25 to $2.27 trillion in 2030-31. That is an increase of almost $800 billion in debt that must be financed through financial markets. Your government prefers to speak in terms of ratios and fiscal anchors, but the actual borrowing burden continues to grow substantially.
Senator Moreau, how can the government justify adding nearly $800 billion in market debt over such a short period of time?
I have the opportunity to tell you what the plan of the government is as far as the economy is concerned and the situation in Canada. The government has a plan that is working, Senator MacDonald.
For instance, wages have outpaced inflation every month that this government has been in place. In May, employment increased by 88,000. The employment rate rose 0.2%, to 60.7%. The unemployment rate fell 0.3%, to 6.6%. The number of people working full-time rose by 154,000. Women’s employment increased by 31,000. On a year-over-year basis, Canada created 147,000 new jobs, all in the face of historic economic uncertainty, trade tensions and geopolitical volatility. These are a few examples of what the government is doing, and those are facts. The reality is that job creation —
Thank you, Senator Moreau.
None of that has anything to do with managing the debt.
Senator Moreau, more market debt means more pressure on future taxpayers and greater exposure to interest costs.
The Parliamentary Budget Officer, or PBO, already projects that the public debt charges will rise to over $80 billion by 2030-31. This level of debt is simply unsustainable. What is the government’s plan to slow the growth of market debt before debt servicing consumes even more federal revenue?
It is far from rhetoric. What is the government’s plan? Bill C-4: a middle-class tax cut for 22 million Canadians. Bill C-5: creating one Canadian economy, addressing $200 billion in lost opportunities annually. Bill C-15: $57 billion in affordable child care and supporting the Major Projects Office, AI infrastructure and critical minerals. Bill C-18: expanding trade access in major Indo-Pacific markets. Bill C-19: $3.1 billion in support for 12 million Canadians. The list is long.
