Canada's federal debt, on three accounting concepts, at their own closest available dates
Four figures that are each publicly cited as 'the federal debt,' pinned side by side with the concept, basis, and date each one carries: two Canadian Government Finance Statistics (CGFS) balance-sheet concepts from Statistics Canada (gross liabilities and net financial worth, calendar 2024, the most recent CGFS annual vintage available), and two Public Accounts-basis concepts from the Department of Finance's Fiscal Monitor (net debt and federal debt/accumulated deficit, both at 2026-03-31, unaudited pending the Public Accounts of Canada 2026). No concept is derived from another; none is asserted to be compositionally reconcilable with another; a published evidence gap states why. This entry pins each one from its own archived source bytes so the Fiscal Position and Settlement Brief's debt-concept chapter renders from citations, not render-time arithmetic.
A Resolution record holds one institution's own published figures for a single, specific quantity — a projection, an estimate, or a measured record — across every vintage in which that institution restated it. Each time an issuer publishes a new budget, report, or release, an earlier figure does not disappear from the record; it is preserved exactly as it was first published, dated and cited, alongside the newer one. What is a Resolution record? →
Maintained record. This lineage preserves an official record version by version — observations, estimates, or benchmarks its issuer restated over time. It projects nothing, so no settlement is pending; where a figure can still be revised, the page says so. How the numbers moved between versions is the evidence this lineage exists to keep.
The lineage
| Vintage | Issuer | Published | Position | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 reference year (CGFS annual, published 2025) | Statistics Canada | 2025-09-26 | current | Source → · accessed 2026-07-20 |
| 2024 reference year (CGFS annual, published 2025) | Statistics Canada | 2025-09-26 | current | Source → · accessed 2026-07-20 |
| Fiscal Monitor, March 2026 (balance sheet as of 2026-03-31) | Department of Finance Canada | 2026-06-15 | current | Source → · accessed 2026-07-20 |
| Fiscal Monitor, March 2026 (balance sheet as of 2026-03-31) | Department of Finance Canada | 2026-06-15 | current | Source → · accessed 2026-07-20 |
| Vintage | Period | Value | Role | Assurance | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 reference year (CGFS annual, published 2025) | Calendar year 2024 (CGFS annual stock) | 1,864,209.0 CAD millions | final observation | unaudited | as first published |
| 2024 reference year (CGFS annual, published 2025) | Calendar year 2024 (CGFS annual stock) | -1,061,969.0 CAD millions | final observation | unaudited | as first published |
| Fiscal Monitor, March 2026 (balance sheet as of 2026-03-31) | As of March 31, 2026 (fiscal year-end 2025-26) | 1,467,135.0 CAD millions | preliminary observation | unaudited | as first published |
| Fiscal Monitor, March 2026 (balance sheet as of 2026-03-31) | As of March 31, 2026 (fiscal year-end 2025-26) | 1,322,004.0 CAD millions | preliminary observation | unaudited | as first published |
Movement between vintages
A record, not a ranking: this entry states what was published and how it compares to what followed. It never says who was right, which institution performed better, or grades a forecaster's competence.
| Comparison | Compared vintages | Movement | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public Accounts basis, same date: net debt vs. federal debt (accumulated deficit) | Fiscal Monitor, March 2026 (balance sheet as of 2026-03-31) (preliminary observation 1,467,135.0 CAD millions) vs. Fiscal Monitor, March 2026 (balance sheet as of 2026-03-31) (preliminary observation 1,322,004.0 CAD millions) | -145,131.0 CAD millions | same issuer |
| CGFS basis, same date: gross liabilities vs. net financial worth | 2024 reference year (CGFS annual, published 2025) (final observation 1,864,209.0 CAD millions) vs. 2024 reference year (CGFS annual, published 2025) (final observation -1,061,969.0 CAD millions) | -2,926,178.0 CAD millions | same issuer |
Evidence qualifications (6)
- These four values are never combined, netted, or averaged into a single 'federal debt' figure. Each is pinned at its own concept, basis, date, and issuer; the Fiscal Position and Settlement Brief presents them side by side, with a stated read of when each is the right number to cite -- it does not adjudicate which is 'the' federal debt.
- The two CGFS values (calendar 2024) and the two Public Accounts-basis values (2026-03-31) are roughly two years apart -- CGFS is an annual compilation that lags the current quarter by about two years, while the Fiscal Monitor is current to the latest month. No interpolation or vintage-blending is performed to bring them to a common date; each concept is presented at its own latest available date, with that date printed beside it; a published evidence gap states why.
- Percentage-of-GDP figures for these four concepts are computed by the Brief's own window_share_of_gdp scenarios against Statistics Canada's nominal GDP series (already-grandfathered statcan:36-10-0104-01), dividing each concept by the average of its own reference year's four SAAR quarters of nominal GDP (calendar 2024 for the CGFS pair, fiscal year 2025-26 for the Public Accounts pair) -- the standard annual-GDP denominator, not computed or stored inside this Resolution, which pins dollar levels only.
- Net financial worth is a signed figure (a negative number denotes a net-liability position); it is never sign-flipped in this entry's own values[] array. Where the Brief's prose treats its magnitude as a debt-equivalent read for a concept-spread comparison, that transformation happens in the Brief's own composed text, not in this Resolution.
- None of these four values is the audited outcome of anything: the CGFS pair carries Statistics Canada's own statistical-compilation status (a final statistical observation, not an external financial audit), and the Public Accounts-basis pair is explicitly unaudited pending the Public Accounts of Canada 2026, which is expected to carry an audited federal debt (accumulated deficit) figure for fiscal 2025-26. When it is tabled, a later reading records the audited outcome alongside these -- nothing here is edited in place.
- This entry does not attempt to reconcile the CGFS and Public Accounts bases into one compositional bridge (the published evidence gap on this basis mismatch states why: different accounting frameworks, different asset/liability perimeters, no official crosswalk at the grain this record would need). It presents both, dated and labelled, and stops there.
Related on this site
- Big Question: Does the federal budget land where it was promised? →
- Brief: Where the budget lands: the federal fiscal position, the promises against it, and what the audited record settles →
- Receipt: Evidence summary for Where the budget lands: the federal fiscal position, the promises against it, and what the audited record settles →
- Domain: Federal Fiscal Capacity →
- More Resolution lineages →
- Sources & Method →
A record, not a ranking: this entry states what was published and how it compares to what followed. It never says who was right, which institution performed better, or grades a forecaster's competence.
This is the current public record for this lineage. See Work with Countability for a commissioned projection-resolution question.
Work with Countability