The Economy, Debt and You Infographic

The Canadian economy has its ups and downs and if you check out the infographic below you can get an idea of where Canada currently stands in relation to its deficit.  Up until the recession hit in 2008 there were many years where Canada was able to achieve a surplus. After 2008, you can see on the graph, the deficit drops dramatically with a current total of around $591 billion. Divided up by provinces, these numbers get even more interesting with Ontario totaling a whole $257.6 billion, making up a large portion of the debt. Quebec comes in second with $178.5 billion with the remaining provinces significantly lower than these two. Alberta seems to be the only province not currently in the hole.

Personal debt throughout Canada is also a concern. Looking at the graph below, Canada is still significantly lower than the United States when comparing debt to income ratios but there may be some concern over the fact that the debt levels Canada is seeing now are comparative to the debt levels the United States reached when we entered recession and the mortgage crisis began. As seen below, Statistics Canada now reports that Canada`s household debt to income ratio is 163%. What does that mean exactly? It means that for every $100 earned there is $163 spent per household. Based on population or per capita debt, Quebec actually wins the title of being the poorest province in this area while Saskatchewan seems to be at the lowest end.

Here are some interesting facts:

• Canada national public debt stands around $591 billion
• Canada gross national public debt reaches around $700 billion
• Quebec has the highest per capita household debt: $21,432
• Saskatchewan has the lowest per capita household debt: $3,354
• The poorest province in Canada is Ontario with $257.6 billion in gross debt
• The poorest province in Canada based on debt per capita is Quebec