Key information about Canada Government Debt: % of GDP

• Canada Government debt accounted for 69.4 % of the country's Nominal GDP in Mar 2024, compared with the ratio of 66.9 % in the previous year.
• Canada government debt to GDP ratio data is updated yearly, available from Mar 1962 to Mar 2024.
• The data reached an all-time high of 83.6 % in Mar 1996 and a record low of 33.1 % in Mar 1977.

CEIC calculates Government Debt as % of Nominal GDP from annual Government Debt and quarterly Nominal GDP. The Department of Finance Canada provides Government Debt in local currency. Statistics Canada provides Nominal GDP in local currency based on CSNA 2012/SNA 2008. Government Debt as % of Nominal GDP is in annual frequency, ending in March of each year.


Related information about Canada Government Debt: % of GDP

• In the latest reports, Canada National Government Debt reached 1,519.8 USD bn in Mar 2024.
• The country's Nominal GDP reached 520.3 USD bn in Mar 2023.

Canada recorded a Government Debt to GDP of 110.80 percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product in 2024. This dataset provides - Canada Government Debt To GDP - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

The ratio of national debt to gross domestic product (GDP) of Canada was approximately 110.77 percent in 2024. Between 1980 and 2024, the ratio rose by around 66.18 percentage points, though the increase followed an uneven trajectory rather than a consistent upward trend. The ratio is forecast to decline by about 6.66 percentage points from 2024 to 2030, fluctuating as it trends downward.The general government gross debt consists of all liabilities that require payment or payments of interest and/or principal by the debtor to the creditor at a date or dates in the future. Here it is depicted in relation to the country's GDP, which refers to the total value of goods and services produced during a year.

Key information about Canada Total Debt: % of GDP

• Canada Total Debt accounted for 946.4 % of the country's GDP in 2024, compared with the ratio of 929.6 % in the previous quarter.
• Canada Total Debt: % of GDP data is updated quarterly, available from Mar 1990 to Dec 2024.
• The data reached an all-time high of 1,078.6 % in Dec 2020 and a record low of 477.0 % in Mar 1990.

CEIC calculates quarterly Total Debt as % of Nominal GDP from quarterly Total Debt and quarterly Nominal GDP. Total Debt is calculated as the Total Liabilities less Equity & Investment Fund Shares and Financial Derivatives. Statistics Canada provides Total Debt in local currency and Nominal GDP in local currency.

Key information about Canada Private Debt: % of Nominal GDP

• Canada Private Debt accounted for 212.62 % of its Nominal GDP in Dec 2024, compared with a ratio of 212.27 % in the previous quarter
• Canada Private Debt contribution to Nominal GDP ratio is updated quarterly, available from Mar 1969 to Dec 2024, with an average share of 129.19 %
• The data reached an all-time high of 237.84 % in Dec 2020 and a record low of 89.28 % in Sep 1976

CEIC calculates quarterly Private Debt as % of Nominal GDP from monthly Private Debt and quarterly Nominal GDP. Private Debt is calculated as a sum of Loans to Private Non-Financial Corporations and Household sectors. Statistics Canada provides Private Debt and Nominal GDP in local currency. Private Debt prior to Q1 1990 is sourced from the Bank of Canada.

Households Debt in Canada decreased to 99.58 percent of GDP in the first quarter of 2025 from 100.39 percent of GDP in the fourth quarter of 2024. This dataset provides - Canada Households Debt To Gdp- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Of the G7 countries, Japan had the highest net debt in terms of share of gross domestic product (GDP) between 2010 and 2024. That year, Japan's government's net debt reached an estimated *** percent of its total GDP. Italy had the second highest debt rate at *** percent of its GDP, whereas Canada had the lowest at only ** percent.

Quarterly gross and net debt to gross domestic product for federal and other levels of general government.

Graph and download economic data for Household Debt to GDP for Canada (HDTGPDCAQ163N) from Q1 2005 to Q4 2024 about Canada, debt, households, and GDP.

Key information about Canada External Debt: % of GDP

• Canada External Debt accounted for 148.4 % of the country's Nominal GDP in 2024, compared with the ratio of 139.5 % in the previous year.
• Canada External Debt: % of Nominal GDP data is updated yearly, available from Dec 1990 to Dec 2024.
• The data reached an all-time high of 149.1 % in Dec 2020 and a record low of 56.2 % in Dec 1990.

CEIC calculates External Debt as % of Nominal GDP from quarterly External Debt and quarterly Nominal GDP. Statistics Canada provides External Debt in local currency and Nominal GDP in local currency.


Related information about Canada External Debt: % of GDP

• In the latest reports of Canada, Current Account recorded a deficit of 4.6 USD bn in Mar 2023.
• Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) increased by 20.0 USD bn in Dec 2024.
• Canada Direct Investment Abroad expanded by 28.5 USD bn in Dec 2024.
• Its Foreign Portfolio Investment increased by 35.6 USD bn in Dec 2024.
• The country's External Debt reached 3,163,216.0 in Dec 2024.
• The country's Nominal GDP was reported at 520.3 USD bn in Mar 2023.

Private Debt to GDP in Canada decreased to 163.25 percent in 2024 from 164 percent in 2023. Canada Private Debt to GDP - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on August of 2025.

Key information about Canada Household Debt: % of GDP

• Canada household debt accounted for 99.0 % of the country's Nominal GDP in Dec 2024, compared with the ratio of 99.0 % in the previous quarter.
• Canada household debt to GDP ratio is updated quarterly, available from Mar 1969 to Dec 2024.
• The data reached an all-time high of 111.2 % in Dec 2020 and a record low of 30.0 % in Mar 1969.

CEIC calculates quarterly Household Debt as % of Nominal GDP from monthly Household Debt and quarterly Nominal GDP. Statistics Canada provides Household Debt in local currency. Statistics Canada provides Nominal GDP in local currency. Loans are used due to the lack of Flow of Funds statistics. Household Debt prior to Q1 1990 is sourced from the Bank of Canada.


Related information about Canada Household Debt: % of GDP

• In the latest reports, Canada Household Debt reached 2,110.9 USD bn in Dec 2024.
• Money Supply M2 in Canada increased 6.1 % YoY in Dec 2024.
• Canada Foreign Exchange Reserves was measured at 90.2 USD bn in Jan 2025.
• The Foreign Exchange Reserves equaled 2.0 Months of Import in Dec 2024.
• Canada Domestic Credit reached 4,531.7 USD bn in Dec 2024, representing an increased of 3.9 % YoY.
• The country's Non Performing Loans Ratio stood at 0.6 % in Sep 2024, compared with the ratio of 0.5 % in the previous quarter.

In 2024, the net government debt to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio of Japan was estimated at about *** percent. The government debt ratio of the United States was over ** percent. Saudi Arabia, who had the lowest net debt, had a debt ratio of only **** percent.

This table contains 29 series, with data for years 2009 - 2019 (not all combinations necessarily have data for all years). This table contains data described by the following dimensions (Not all combinations are available): Geography (1 item: Canada) Central government debt (29 items: A. Federal debt (accumulated deficit), (B - E); B. Net debt, (C - D); C. Liabilities, gross debt; Accounts payable and accrued liabilities; ...).

Canada PBO Forecast: Federal Debt: % of GDP data was reported at 39.200 % in 2030. This records a decrease from the previous number of 40.100 % for 2029. Canada PBO Forecast: Federal Debt: % of GDP data is updated yearly, averaging 40.800 % from Mar 2016 (Median) to 2030, with 15 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 49.300 % in 2021 and a record low of 30.800 % in 2020. Canada PBO Forecast: Federal Debt: % of GDP data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Canada – Table CA.F011: Federal Government Debt: Forecast: Parliamentary Budget Officer.

During the Great Recession of 2008-2009, the advanced economies of the G7 experienced a period of acute financial crises, downturns in the non-financial economy, and political instability. The governments of these countries in many cases stepped in to backstop their financial sectors and to try to stimulate their economies. The scale of these interventions was large by historical standards, with observers making comparisons to the measures of the New Deal which the U.S. undertook in the 1930s to end the Great Depression.

The bailouts of financial institutions and stimulus packages caused the government debt ratios of the United States, United Kingdom, and Japan in particular to rise sharply. The UK's government debt ratio almost doubled due to the bailouts of Northern Rock and Royal Bank of Scotland. On the other hand, the increases in government debt in the Eurozone were more measured, due to the comparative absence of stimulus spending in these countries. They would later be hit hard during the Eurozone crisis of the 2010s, when bank lending to the periphery of the Eurozone (Portugal, Spain, Ireland and Greece in particular) would trigger a sovereign debt crisis. The Canadian government, led by a Conservative premier, engaged in some fiscal stimulus to support its economy, but these packages were small in comparison to that in most other of the G7 countries.

Central government debt, total (% of GDP) in Canada was reported at 61.34 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Canada - Central government debt, total (% of GDP) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

With the global impact of the 2020 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), there has been a surge in public debt and uncertainty in the global economy. As the likelihood of a recession and a higher debt for Canada increases, the utility of a forecasting model is a realistic choice to both predict and determine optimal fiscal decisions for the government. This paper seeks to ratify existing historical trends in three developed economies (Canada, Japan, and the U.K.) as well as offer a time series forecast for the proceeding five years’ debt to GDP ratio. As per the International Monetary Fund (IMF), a limit of 60% in debt to GDP ratio was employed to measure how far off these three countries were from a considerably recoverable amount of debt. The time series forecast that the U.K. will drop to 65.436% by 2025, however, Japan and Canada will continue to accumulate debt to 254.3851% and 80.107% respectively.

Key information about Canada National Government Debt

• Canada National Government Debt reached 1,519.8 USD bn in Mar 2024, compared with 1,423.3 USD bn in the previous year.
• Canada National Government Debt data is updated yearly, available from Mar 1962 to Mar 2024.
• The data reached an all-time high of 1,519.8 USD bn in Mar 2024 and a record low of 20.5 USD bn in Mar 1962.

CEIC converts annual Government Debt into USD. The Department of Finance Canada provides Government Debt in local currency. The Federal Reserve Board period end market exchange rate is used for currency conversions. Government Debt is in annual frequency, ending in March of each year.


Related information about Canada National Government Debt

• In the latest reports, Canada Consolidated Fiscal Balance recorded a deficit equal to 1.8 % of its Nominal GDP in Sep 2024.
• The country's Government debt accounted for 69.4 % of its Nominal GDP in Mar 2024.
• Canada Nominal GDP reached 520.3 USD bn in Mar 2023.

Canada CA: Gross Public Debt: % of GDP: General Government: External Creditors data was reported at 28.005 % in Dec 2024. This records an increase from the previous number of 26.618 % for Sep 2024. Canada CA: Gross Public Debt: % of GDP: General Government: External Creditors data is updated quarterly, averaging 20.131 % from Mar 1995 (Median) to Dec 2024, with 120 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 30.963 % in Mar 1995 and a record low of 9.329 % in Dec 2007. Canada CA: Gross Public Debt: % of GDP: General Government: External Creditors data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Canada – Table CA.World Bank.QPSD: Gross Public Debt: % of GDP: General Government.