Canada lowered its budget deficit and had the lowest debt-to-GDP (gross domestic product) among the G7 nations in fiscal year 2017, according to the Annual Financial Report of the Government of Canada.
The government posted a budgetary deficit of $17.8 billion for the fiscal year that ended on March 31, 2017—less than the $23.0 billion projected in the 2017 budget, and $11.6 billion less than originally projected in the 2016 budget.
It added that Canada has the fastest growing economy among the G7 with 400,000 new jobs created in the past year.
The federal debt stood at $631.9 billion at March 31, 2017. The federal debt-to-GDP ratio was 31.2 percent—0.3 percentage points lower than projected. Canada’s total government net debt-to-GDP ratio, which includes the net debt of the federal, provincial/territorial and local governments, as well as the net assets held in the Canada Pension Plan and Québec Pension Plan, stood at 27.6 percent in 2016. This is the lowest level among G7 countries, which the IMF expects will record an average net debt of 83 percent of GDP for the same year.
Also, revenues decreased by $2.0 billion, or 0.7 percent, from 2015–16. Program expenses increased by $16.2 billion, or 6 percent, reflecting increases in major transfers to persons, major transfers to other levels of government and other transfer payments. Public debt charges were down $1.3 billion, or 5.2 percent, reflecting a lower average effective interest rate on the stock of interest-bearing debt.