Budget 2026 increases Debt Clock $2,000 every second

OTTAWA, ON: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation used its Debt Clock in Ottawa to show how fast the borrowing in the federal budget is increasing the $1.3-trillion debt and what it means for everyday taxpayers.

“Look at the Debt Clock: Prime Minister Mark Carney’s budget increases the debt $2,000 every second,” said Franco Terrazzano, CTF Federal Director. “The budget shows Carney plans to borrow tens of billions of dollars every year and taxpayers will be forced to pay interest on every dollar the government borrows.”

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation’s Debt Clock is a huge digital counter mounted on the side of a large truck that shows the national debt going up in real time. Here’s what it shows after Budget 2026:

• Canada’s debt is more than $1.3 trillion.
• The debt is increasing by $165 million per day or about $2,000 per second.
• Each person’s individual share of the federal government’s debt is $32,000.

The government is borrowing more than $60 billion this year, according to Budget 2026. It plans to add $287 billion to the debt from 2025 to 2031. The budget has no plan to stop borrowing money.

Debt interest charges will cost taxpayers $60 billion this year, which is more than the federal government will send to the provinces in health transfers ($57 billion) or collect through its GST ($52 billion).

The government is spending about $14 billion more than it planned. The government originally said it would spend $588 billion this year. However, the government is now on track to spend about $602 billion this year, according to Budget 2026.

“Paying interest on the debt costs taxpayers more than $1 billion every week,” Terrazzano said. “The government needs to stop spending overbudget and stop the Debt Clock.

For more information or to schedule interviews, please contact:

Franco Terrazzano
CTF Federal Director
Phone: 403.918.3532
Email: fterrazzano@taxpayer.com

Canadian Taxpayers Federation