I have written in the past about the duplicity of the Ontario Liberal budgets in speaking only of net debt. The 2018-19 provincial budget was released on March 29 and I will comment briefly on how it handles the topics of debt and deficit. But first a discussion of net and total debt.
Let's say you have an RRSP of $10,000 nominal value, no credit cards, no loans outstanding, and no other savings since tomorrow is payday and your account is registering empty. Further, your car was in an accident and is a total write-off. You need one for work so you go to your bank and get a loan for $10,000 with a 6-years term and monthly payments of $200. How much debt do you have at this point?