• Canada Day Debt Report shows each British Columbian owes $52,000

VANCOUVER, B.C. – The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is urging Premier John Horgan to get British Columbia’s debt under control. Each British Columbian’s average share of government debt will total about $52,000 this year, according to a Canadian Taxpayers Federation report released today.

“The government was doing a reasonably good job balancing its operating budget before COVID-19 hit us, but now we’re tumbling into deep debt,” said Kris Sims, B.C. Director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. “Emergency spending cannot become permanent spending.”

In 2019-20, the province spent about $58.9 billion, but the pandemic pushed spending up to $69.1 billion in 2020-21. In 2023-24, the province is still projecting to spend $68.9 billion.

British Columbia’s debt will be $102.9 billion by the end of 2021.

The Canada Day Debt Report, released by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, shows that B.C. taxpayers are paying about $2.7 billion in interest costs on the provincial debt per year.

“Instead of spending $13 billion on debt interest payments in the last five years, Horgan could have reduced the PST by two per cent and saved families money on everything from used cars to new shoes,” said Sims.

The federal debt will hit $1.2 trillion this year. That’s an increase of 84 per cent over five years.

When combining the federal and provincial debts, every British Columbian now owes approximately $52,000 in government debt.

“Governments have been borrowing too much money for too long and now they need to start addressing the red ink before taxpayers get clobbered,” said Franco Terrazzano, the Federal Director for the CTF.  “Canadians don’t have tens of thousands of dollars lying around to pay for this mountain of government debt, and that’s why it’s so important for politicians to find savings like everyone else.”

Read the Canadian Taxpayers Federation’s 2021 Canada Day Debt Report here: LINK.