Lessons Learned from...Public Debt

I was recently asked to research estimated government debt figures for Canada. The size of our collective debt is astounding. For those of us who take pride in keeping personal debt under control, it's disheartening to realize that, even with our efforts, we're still in the red.

It's sobering to understand that we spend (waste?) money when we do things like ignore recycling bylaws, go to the doctor when we're not sick, take more "free" government services than we need and send things to the landfill that can be reused. Everything has a cost, even if it doesn't hit our personal bottom line directly.

So here's one more new year's resolution: in 2011, let's all think about the true cost of our actions. This may help us know when we've had enough.

Federal government: $517.5
Source: http://www.budget.gc.ca/2010/pdf/budget-planbudgetaire-eng.pdf

BC: $41,885 million
Source: http://www.fin.gov.bc.ca/OCG/pa/09_10/PA_2010_ProvDebt.pdf

Alberta: $1.092 billion
Source: http://www.finance.alberta.ca/publications/annual_repts/govt/ganrep10/confinst.pdf

Saskatchewan: $4,145.3 million
Source: http://www.finance.gov.sk.ca/default.aspx?DN=1ef17811-55c7-4f06-87e7-67fb4cccb95b

Manitoba: $13,995 million
Source: http://gov.mb.ca/finance/budget10/papers/budget.pdf

Ontario: $212.4 billion
Source: http://www.fin.gov.on.ca/en/budget/ontariobudgets/2010/ch4.html#c4_debtComposition

Quebec: $129 billion
Source: http://www.conferenceboard.ca/topics/economics/budgets/quebec_2010_budget_EN.aspx

Nova Scotia: $13.01 billion
Source: http://www.gov.ns.ca/finance/en/home/investorrelations/outstandingdebt/default.aspx

New Brunswick: $8.3 billion
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/new-brunswicks-debt-casts-tall-shadow-over-heated-provincial-contest/article1686832/

PEI: 1.7 billion
Source: http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Politics/20101226/public-debt-in-maritimes-101226/

Newfoundland: $ 8,457 million
Source: http://www.td.com/economics/budgets/nl10.pdf

Vancouver: $410,630,000
Source: http://vancouver.ca/fs/budgetServices/pdf/09AnuualReport.pdf

Calgary: $2,901.3 million
Source: http://www.calgary.ca/docgallery/bu/finance/budget/2009_2011/pdf/08b_capital_analysis.pdf

Toronto: $ 3,829,795,000
Source: http://www.toronto.ca/finance/pdf/2009fr.pdf page 50

Montreal: $4,217 million
Source: http://www.ville.montreal.qc.ca/pls/portal/docs/page/service_fin_en/media/documents/budget-2010-10-global-dette-sit-fin-a.pdf

Halifax: $279 million
Source : http://www.halifax.ca/budget/documents/2010-11OPERATINGBOOKFINAL.pdf