The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) has launched a nationwide tour of its new debt clock to raise awareness about Canada’s ballooning $1.1 trillion national debt.
The CTF’s debt clock has been making its way across Canada since the 1990s. Last year, however, the organization had to retire the original clock when it ran out of digits, which topped out at $999,999,999,999.99.
Beginning on Monday, a new truck will be travelling from coast to coast carrying a digitized clock that shows how quickly the trillion-dollar debt is rising in real time.
“It’s hard for most of us to imagine a trillion-dollar debt, but we know what it’s like to watch a bill going up in real-time and that’s exactly what the Debt Clock shows Canadians,” said CTF Federal Director Franco Terrazzano. “Canada’s national debt is already more than $1 trillion in debt, and it’s going up by almost $400 million every day.”
According to Terrazzano, if a Canadian were to make a two-minute YouTube video, the national debt would have already gone up by nearly $500,000.
The first stop was in Victoria, where CTF British Columbia Director Kris Sims blasted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his government for burdening the country with ponderous amounts of new debt.
“It’s time for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to rein in his massive borrowing and give taxpayers a plan to balance the budget,” said Sims. “A balanced budget means less debt for Canadian kids and grandkids to pay back, less money wasted on interest charges and fewer tax hikes.”
In Jan. 2021, each Canadian’s share of the federal debt surpassed $24,000 for the first time ever. As of Monday, the CTF’s debt clock put “your share” of the debt at close to $31,000.
The federal Conservatives have blasted Trudeau for his handling of the Canadian economy during the COVID-19 pandemic.
During an exclusive interview with True North fellow Andrew Lawton, Conservative MP and leadership contestant Pierre Poilievre stated that government overspending was behind the rising cost of living crisis.
“The cost of government is driving up the cost of living. When governments overspend then they have to overtax, and that drives up the cost of everything,” said Poilievre.
According to data published by the Parliamentary Budget Officer, the federal government isn’t projected to balance its budget until 2070.
Even before the arrival of the pandemic in early 2020, federal spending under the Trudeau government was at an all-time high.
