Pierre Poilievre, the leader of Canada’s Conservatives, has raised concerns regarding Canada’s debt levels in his latest “Debtonation” series. The series is gaining significant attention as it explores Canada’s disturbing financial situation and what may happen if this trend continues unchecked.
The second episode of the series is titled “Debtonation-Episode 2: Exploding Debts & How We Can Rescue Canada from Them”, and Poilievre brings to light four leading indicators that signify a forthcoming debt disaster; continuous buildup of debt, particularly household debt, asset price inflation, contracting output and huge account deficits. These warnings signs are already visible in Canada according to him as well as he paints a bleak picture of the country’s fiscal landscape.
Poilievre claims that between 2015 and 2023 Canada’s total public and private debts have increased by $7.9 trillion to $10.2 trillion, or an astonishing 28.5%. However, during this time interval genuine GDP growth only reached 14.1% meaning that the rate at which incomes grow is far less than the pace at which debt accumulates.
Another revelation in the documentary is that when combined with consumer, Government and corporate liabilities for entire Canada, it makes up over 357 % of GDP; a ratio higher than most countries ever experienced in terms of financial crises for one hundred years back then. In fact among these last century forty eight major financial crises currently happening all over the world just three nations were found to be more indebted than Canada.
According to him at times Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland often asserts that Canada has least Debt to GDP ration amongst G7 countries but Poilievre challenges this narrative. International Monetary Fund data indicates that in excess of 106% was held by Canadian gross government debt in year 2023 which exceeded G7 members like Germany and United States at par with France.
Moreover, the documentary unmasks the common pandemic excuse for increased national debt. Parliamentary Budget Officer’s findings revealed that 35.5% of new Federal spending during the pandemic weren’t related to COVID-19. On real terms, the federal deficit was 64 percent larger than it was in WWI when adjusted for inflation and size of economy and is now 2.5 times bigger than it was during 2008 global financial crisis.
Additionally, Poilievre argues that there is additional $186 billion forecast in federal government deficits through to 2029 with no path towards a balanced budget. The country could face dire consequences if this trend continues unchecked.
On top of this, these people are among the most impoverished populations in Canada according to personal debt levels depicted in the documentary. For example, he suggests that individuals in age group between forty-five and fifty four belonging to lowest quintile had debts equaling 732 % of their disposable incomes or an alarming increase by more than three times since 2014.
Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner responded to this film praising Pierre Polievre’s work and even saying ““I have NO doubt Mr. Poilievre wrote much of this content himself,” adding that she couldn’t imagine Prime Minister Trudeau trying to do the same thing.”
The “Debtonation” series has sparked essential discussions about Canada’s future as a nation grappling with its growing debt burden. Poilievre’s warnings should be seen as an alarm bell which challenges all policy makers and citizens at large to confront these problems head on with a comprehensive plan leading to a sustainable fiscal path for the country.
The film shows a negative picture of Canada’s debt landscape, with Poilievre making analogies to various momentous financial crises in the past hundred years. The country’s debt-to-GDP ratio has eclipsed what was seen in many other countries before their economies took turns for the worst.
Poilievre breaks down his analysis into several parts including government sector, corporate sector and personal level debts that make up Canada’s total liabilities . It is not only about the federal government, it goes beyond that because Canadian households have a combined consumer, corporate, and government debt equal to 357% of GDP.
We posted on our YouTube channel community section, asking Canadians whether they trust Pierre Poilievre’s vision for rebuilding Canada. The results were astonishing, nearly everyone trusts his vision. Join the conversation on Scoop Canada YouTube Channel! Vote and share your thoughts here to make your voice heard!
Also, this docuseries challenges the assumption that Canada has the lowest among G7 member nations when it comes to its ratio of debt to GDP; something which is regularly voiced by Minister of finance Chrystia Freeland. For example, he states that according to IMF data showed that at 2023 year end gross debt in Canada was rather higher than in Germany or USA.
This time around, however, unlike during some major previous crises such as World War I and Global Financial Crisis (GFC), Poilievre disregards pointing fingers at pandemic as the main factor contributing towards mounting national liability but instead blames Parliamentary Budget Officer revealing over one third of new federal spending during COVID-19 period alone does not relate to it. According to him deficit adjusted for inflation and relative size clearly indicates how much bigger it was than any other crises like in WW1 or GFC.
Furthermore, this documentary scrutinizes Canadians’ individual debts placing an emphasis on those from low income backgrounds who are viewed as more vulnerable. Hence individuals aged between forty-five and fifty-four who belong to bottom earning quintile had liabilities which were equal seven times higher than their means of subsistence resulting in three-fold increase compared with 2014.
With another $186 billion expected to be added up into this already sky-rocketing deficit by 2029, the alarms from Parliament are clear. It is a series of five documentaries that have been informing Canadians about their future finances and telling Canadians what to do even if it is difficult.
The Conservative MP for Calgary Nose Hill, Michelle Rempel Garner praised Poilievre’s documentary by saying that he was very involved in the content creation. The importance of this statement is heightened by the fact that it comes from another member of the same party, thus highlighting how significant this issue could be in shaping both Canada’s economy and political direction for years to come.
Last Updated on by Alshaar Ansari
