- Government deficit — the annual budget shortfall Ottawa actually controls.
- Debt servicing charges — the cost of carrying the national debt over time.
- Public service size & growth — the size and growth of the federal workforce behind these services.
The answer to how indebted Canada is compared to its G7 peers depends on which measure is used. This page sets out what each measure includes, what it excludes, and where Canada sits on each, using the most recent IMF Fiscal Monitor projections for general government gross debt as the headline comparison.
General government gross debt consolidates federal, provincial/state, territorial, and local liabilities without netting any offsetting assets. It is the measure with the fewest cross-country methodology asymmetries, and it is the one Moody's, S&P, Fitch, and the OECD treat as the primary cross-country reference. Toggle between years below. All three come from the April 2026 Fiscal Monitor.
Source: IMF Fiscal Monitor, April 2026. Includes federal, provincial/state, and local government liabilities.
| Rank | Country | Gross debt (% of GDP) |
|---|
Sovereign indebtedness can be measured in several ways. Each captures a different slice of government liabilities and produces a different cross-country picture.
Canada's federal debt sits at roughly 43% of GDP. This figure excludes provincial and territorial liabilities, which in a decentralised federation are substantial. Ontario and Quebec alone carry liabilities comparable to mid-sized sovereign borrowers. Federal-only figures are not directly comparable to general government figures used by unitary states.
Net debt subtracts financial assets from gross liabilities. For Canada, the IMF nets out roughly $750 billion in CPP and QPP assets. Japan's GPIF is treated similarly; the US Social Security trust fund holds intragovernmental Treasuries that wash out; France, Italy, the UK, and Germany have no comparably large prefunded pension pools to net. The treatment of prefunded pension assets is methodologically asymmetric across the G7 (some economies have such pools to net, others do not), which produces a measure that places countries with large prefunded social-insurance funds favourably and countries without them less so. On this measure, Canada ranks favourably within the G7.
Gross general government debt consolidates federal, provincial/state, territorial, and local liabilities without netting any offsetting assets. It is the measure with the fewest cross-country methodology asymmetries, and it is the one Moody's, S&P, Fitch, and the OECD treat as the primary cross-country reference in their published sovereign analysis. On this measure (2026 IMF projection), Canada sits at roughly 110.7% of GDP, third of seven in the G7, between the United Kingdom (~104%) and France (~118%).
Federal-only debt at ~43% is not internationally comparable. IMF net debt places Canada at or near the top of the G7. Gross general government debt places Canada third of seven. The same country produces three different rankings, driven by what each measure includes and excludes.
Gross general government debt-to-GDP, the measure used by major rating agencies and the OECD, puts Canada at 110.7% in 2026, behind Germany (~65%) and the UK (~104%) and ahead of France (~118%), the US (~126%), Italy (~138%), and Japan (~204%).
From 110.0% of GDP in 2024 to 113.5% in 2025, with the IMF projecting 110.7% for 2026. The gap to France and the United States has widened, and the gap to Germany has narrowed slightly.
Canada's gross debt is projected at 110.7% of GDP in 2026, 3rd of 7 in the G7, after rising to 113.5% in 2025.
- Compared with
- The G7, on general government gross debt as a share of GDP (IMF Fiscal Monitor, 2026 projection).
- Where Canada sits
- Canada ranks 3rd of 7 at 110.7% of GDP, behind Germany (~65%) and the UK (~104%) and ahead of France (~118%), the US, Italy, and Japan.
- Which way it is moving
- Mixed. Gross debt rose from 110.0% in 2024 to 113.5% in 2025, and the IMF projects it to ease to 110.7% in 2026.
- What the verdict follows
- Position in the peer set. Canada holds the middle band, 3rd of 7, behind Germany and the UK. One place higher would be Strong.
- Data basis
- IMF Fiscal Monitor, April 2026, Table 1.2 (2024 and 2025 estimates and 2026 projection), with OECD and BIS series for context. Page last reviewed September 2026 · Data current to the 2026 projection in the April 2026 Fiscal Monitor.
Primary sources
- IMF Fiscal Monitor, April 2026 — Table 1.2, General Government Debt, 2019–31 (2024 and 2025 estimates, 2026 projection). Canada and the US are adjusted to exclude unfunded pension liabilities of government employees' defined-benefit plans.
- OECD Economic Outlook — annex tables for general government gross financial liabilities.
- BIS general government debt series — long-run historical comparison.
- Federal-only Canadian figure: Fall Economic Statement, Department of Finance Canada (most recent presentation).
Methodology notes
- All three years in the toggle come from the April 2026 Fiscal Monitor, so the trend is not affected by revisions between releases. Earlier releases carried different figures for the same years. The IMF revises its estimates each cycle, and Japan's gross debt in particular has been revised down substantially from earlier vintages.
- "General government" follows the IMF/OECD definition: consolidated federal, state/provincial, territorial, and local government liabilities. Public corporations and central bank liabilities are excluded.
- "Net debt" subtracts financial assets from gross liabilities. The IMF's treatment of prefunded pension assets (CPP, QPP, GPIF) is the principal driver of the divergence between Canada's gross and net debt rankings.
- Federal-only Canadian debt figure (~43% of GDP) is drawn from the federal government's most recent Fall Economic Statement presentation and is not directly comparable to general government figures for other G7 members.
What each measure answers
Federal-only debt asks "how much does the central government owe?" That is useful for federal-level fiscal capacity, less so for cross-country comparison in a decentralised federation. Net debt asks "what is the government's net financial position?" It captures prefunded social-insurance assets, but is methodologically asymmetric across the G7. Gross general government debt asks "what is the total stock of consolidated public-sector liabilities?" It carries the fewest cross-country asymmetries.
