The Carney government is set to raise Canada’s debt ceiling for the third time in four years, adding hundreds of billions more to the country’s borrowing capacity.A notice from the Department of Finance said cabinet will hike the federal debt limit by 20% to a record $2.54 trillion — an increase of $1.37 trillion since 2021. Blacklock's Reporter says the measure is part of Budget 2025, titled Canada Strong, which the government says will “support building a new Canadian economy and defending Canada.”Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne dismissed concerns about runaway spending, insisting the new borrowing is “not spending” but “investing.”“There is a difference between spending and investing,” Champagne told MPs in the House of Commons. “When times are difficult we do not retreat, we advance and we spend. That is what Budget 2025 is all about.”.Under the plan, Ottawa intends to borrow an additional $321.7 billion by 2030. Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre blasted the announcement, calculating that the federal government is adding $10 million an hour to the national debt.“The current government is the most expensive in Canadian history,” said Poilievre. “Every dollar the Prime Minister spends comes out of the pockets of Canadians.”Canada has not posted a balanced budget since 2007. The debt ceiling stood at $1.17 trillion in 2020 before being raised to $1.83 trillion in 2021 and again to $2.13 trillion last year..At the time, then–finance minister Chrystia Freeland told MPs the increase was “not a blank cheque,” insisting that “every single expenditure by the government needs to be authorized by Parliament.”Conservatives argued the government quickly blew past those assurances. “Your government blew through its previous debt ceiling within a couple of years,” former MP Ed Fast told Freeland during 2021 finance committee hearings.Freeland defended the government’s record in 2024, warning that cutting spending would force Canadians “to fend for yourselves.”
