This year, each Canadian taxpayer will pay between $1,845 and $3,348 for interest on federal and provincial government debt

VANCOUVER, BC, June 18, 2026 /CNW/ – Combined government debt interest payments for both the federal and provincial governments in Canada will cost $94.4 billion in 2025/26–or between $1,845 and $3,348 per Canadian depending on the province, finds a new study published by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank.

“Interest must be paid on government debt, and the more money governments spend on interest payments the less money is available for the programs and services that matter to Canadians,” said Jake Fuss, director of fiscal studies at the Fraser Institute and co-author of Federal and Provincial Debt Interest Costs for Canadians, 2026 Edition.

The study finds that taxpayers across Canada will pay a total of $94.4billion on interest payments for the federal and provincial government debts in 2025/26 alone.

This year, the federal government will spend $54.0 billion on interest just for the federal debt, which is significantly more than Ottawa expects to spend on the Canada Child Benefit and Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care benefit combined ($38.1 billion). In fact, debt interest costs this year for Ottawa are nearly as much as Ottawa will send to the provinces in health care transfers ($54.7 billion).

Ottawa’s substantial interest charges this year, plus the debt servicing costs for provincial debt, imposes significant costs on each Canadian taxpayer. Newfoundland and Labrador’s combined federal and provincial interest costs is the highest in the country at $3,348 per person. Manitoba is the next highest at $2,816 per person. Alberta’s combined federal and provincial interest costs are the lowest in the country at $1,845 per person.

Meanwhile, debt interest costs for Ontarians ($37.1 billion), and Quebecers ($22.1 billion), are nearly the same amount as the provinces expect to spend on K-12 education in their respective provinces this year.

“Governments across Canada continue to rack up large debts, which impose real costs on Canadians, not only in the form of future higher taxes to repay the debt, but also in high debt interest charges which must be paid by taxpayers.” said Jake Fuss.

“Money that goes to creditors as interest on government debt is money that is not available for other important priorities.”

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The Fraser Institute is an independent Canadian public policy research and educational organization with offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal and ties to a global network of think-tanks in 87 countries. Its mission is to improve the quality of life for Canadians, their families and future generations by studying, measuring and broadly communicating the effects of government policies, entrepreneurship and choice on their well-being. To protect the Institute’s independence, it does not accept grants from governments or contracts for research. Visit www.fraserinstitute.org

SOURCE The Fraser Institute