Government Spending & Taxes

Household Debt and Government Debt in Canada finds that, although household debt in Canada increased to more than $2 trillion in 2016—up from $357 billion in 1990—Canadian household assets (real estate, pensions, financial investments and equity in businesses, for example) also increased in value over the same time period to $12.3 trillion last year. But whereas recent increases in Canadian household debt have been accompanied by increases in net worth, the same cannot be said about government debt.

This year Tax Freedom Day falls on June 9.  Tax Freedom Day measures the total yearly tax burden imposed on Canadian families by all levels of government:  If you had to pay all your taxes up front, you’d give government every dollar you earned before June 9. This year, the average Canadian family (with two or more people) will pay $47,135 in total taxes or 43.4 per cent of its annual income.

Prime Ministers and Government Spending: A Retrospective finds that this year, federal per person program spending under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has nearly eclipsed the all-time high recorded during the 2009 recession. But unlike most marked increases in program spending over Canada's 150-year history, this year's historically high level of spending comes in the absence of a recession or war.