Keeping Promises to Canadians: Debt Reduction

October 09, 2021

Week of October 09 – October 13, 2021

Debt reduction has always been an important issue to Canadians, as we don’t want our children and grandchildren to be saddled with the consequences of our spending from today. Debt servicing also shifts the government’s focus away from important priorities. Debt reduction is important to our new Government because it’s important to Canadian families and taxpayers.

On September 25th, the Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance and the Honourable John Baird, President of the Treasury Board, announced that Canada’s new Government had paid down the national debt, eliminated wasteful and ineffective programs, and reduced government spending. The Government has reduced the national debt by $13.2 billion, which is one of the largest debt reductions in Canadian history and as a result, the federal debt is down $561 for each Canadian.

Minister Flaherty explained that this substantial reduction is the result of strong revenue growth, which reflects the strength of the Canadian economy, and lower-than-expected program expenses. In conjunction with paying down the national debt, the Government has also cut taxes and has invested more resources in programs that are important to Canadian families, such as child care and safer streets. This success can be attributed to our Government’s new accountable and responsible approach to spending that is focused on clearly defined priorities.

In Budget 2006, the new Government committed to identifying $1 billion in savings from programs and activities that are no longer effective. This exercise affects programs that were not used, not effective, and not in line with what Canadians wanted. After extensive review, it was discovered that in some cases, there was program duplication. In reaction to this, the Government streamlined the programs in an ongoing effort to deliver better services to Canadian families and taxpayers. For example, the Government is saving $13.9 million by not proceeding ahead with the High-Frequency Surface Radar project because access to the radio spectrum to operate this system isn’t available.

Canada’s new Government is committed to assuring Canadians that their hard-earned tax dollars are wisely spent and meet their priorities. Canadians were promised responsible spending and this promise has been fulfilled and as a result, the Government has also maintained its promise of national debt reduction.