Federal and Provincial Debt-Interest Costs for Canadians, 2023 edition

Summary

• In recent years, deficit spending and grow­ing government debt have become a trend for many Canadian governments. Like households, governments are required to pay interest on their debt.
• In aggregate, the provinces and federal gov­ernment are expected to spend $68.6 billion on interest payments in 2022/23.
• Residents of Newfoundland & Labrador face by far the highest combined federal-provincial interest payments per person ($2,727). Quebec, Canada’s second most populous province, is the next highest at $2,110 per person.
• The federal government will spend $34.7 billion on debt servicing charges in 2022/23, which is more than what the government ex­pects to spend on child care benefits ($29.4 bil­lion) and employment insurance benefits ($24.8 billion).
• Ontarians are projected to spend $27.0 bil­lion on combined federal and provincial inter­est costs in 2022/23, which is nearly equivalent to the amount the province will spend on hos­pitals this year.
• Meanwhile, total expenditures on interest costs for Albertans ($6.7 billion) is more than what the province will spend on physicians this year. Combined federal-provincial inter­est costs for British Columbians ($7.4 billion) are roughly equivalent to what the province ex­pects to spend on its social services this year.