A large portion of Canada's record-high spending during the COVID-19 pandemic did not relate to healthcare or income supports for people and businesses, according to a study done by the Fraser Institute. .“Canadians may be surprised to learn that a significant percentage of Ottawa’s huge spending increases during COVID, which produced large deficits and much more debt, had nothing to do with the pandemic,” said Fraser Institute senior fellow and study co-author Livio Di Matteo in a Wednesday press release. .The study said Canadian government spending increased by 73% to $644.2 billion in 2020-2021 before declining 21% to an estimated $508.2 billion in 2021-2022. .The study went on to say Canadian government debt grew by 41.4% to $1.2 trillion in 2020-2021 and by 12.4% to $1.3 trillion in 2021-2022..It said about 60% of the first federal budget deficit related directly to COVID-19 by funding health spending and transfers and income supports, while the remaining 40% did not pertain to the pandemic. It added the spending represented a permanent, long-term increase in federal spending..“As a result of Ottawa’s massive spending increase during the pandemic, the federal government will have a larger footprint in the Canadian economy now and for many years to come,” said Di Matteo. .The Canadian government taking the country into the red more than $1-trillion led to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) Debt Clock breaking in January. .READ MORE: Out of time — Trudeau breaks CTF’s debt clock.“The Trudeau government broke our national debt clock by running the debt beyond,” said CTF federal director Franco Terrazzano. .“We made the mistake of underestimating politicians’ ability to spend other people’s money.”
