OTTAWA, ON — The National Citizens Coalition (NCC) and President Peter Coleman are sounding the alarm over the federal government's latest fiscal trajectory, warning that reckless borrowing, an uncontainable deficit, and unsustainable immigration policies are putting Canada’s economic future at grave risk.
According to the latest fiscal projections, Canada's total market debt will approach an astounding $2 trillion by 2031, with absolutely no end in sight for structural deficits.
The federal deficit for 2026–2027 is projected to hit a staggering $62 billion, and it is only expected to crawl down to $53 billion by 2030/2031. Rather than practising fiscal restraint, the government has introduced $151 billion in new spending over the five-year budget term, effectively ensuring that the majority of new revenue is immediately offset by increased spending.
"The borrowing numbers and projected debt charges reveal a considerable, deeply concerning risk to our future economic growth," said Peter Coleman, President of the National Citizens Coalition. "Our annual debt servicing costs have officially reached $60 billion. This means the government is now spending more just to service its debt than it does on our entire national defence budget. Shockingly, these interest charges are on track to skyrocket to $85 billion by 2030/2031."
The NCC emphasizes that despite the massive price tag of these persistent "big Liberal spending budgets," everyday citizens are being left behind by a complete lack of a real, substantive discussion about affordability and making life better for Canadians. Ongoing job losses across the country serve as a stark, definitive sign that the economy is not improving fast enough to support Canadian families, nor their housing or employment needs.
Central to this affordability crisis, the NCC notes, are the federal government's swollen immigration targets and a total breakdown in managing temporary resident flows. The complete lack of outflow of millions of individuals on temporary visas from the Covid era has created an artificial imbalance in the labour and housing markets. These mismanaged volumes are actively undercutting the domestic Canadian workforce and suppressing real wages, while simultaneously driving sky-high rents and placing an unprecedented strain on local infrastructure and public services.
"The government claims it wants to spark a 'super investment cycle,' but they are not moving nearly fast enough to fix the structural issues they created," Coleman continued. "We need faster, decisive action. Any significant, real spending increases from this point forward must be strictly tied to direct job growth opportunities for Canadians. If we want to turn this economy around, we need to immediately cut the red tape and start building critical infrastructure like pipelines sooner. The royalties we secure from responsibly developing our natural resources—combined with realistic, stable immigration caps—are vital to driving the growth and genuine job creation Canadians desperately need right now."
In addition to resource development and immigration reform, the NCC is calling for immediate internal economic policy corrections, noting that Canadians are still waiting for damaging interprovincial trade barriers to finally disappear.
The Coalition concludes that without an immediate shift away from unchecked spending, European-style open-border immigration targets, and regulatory gridlock, Canada’s economic spiral will continue to stifle future generations.
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