Opinion: It's official — Trudeau has now literally doubled down on debt

financialpost.com:

By Franco Terrazzano

Pop the champagne! It’s now official. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has doubled the federal debt. It took nearly two dozen prime ministers and a century and a half for the federal government to rack up $616 billion in debt, which is where the total stood before Trudeau’s first year in office. But less than a decade later, on Aug. 30 of this year, the debt has officially doubled to $1.232 trillion. That’s according to calculations done by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation based on annual debt increases outlined in the government’s latest budget.

The Trudeau government’s debt binge has had, and will continue to have, a material impact on Canadians’ lives.

We all want to leave our kids and grandkids a bright financial future. But a baby born today is already on the hook for about $30,000 in federal government debt. That debt may never fully be paid back: Canada’s federal debt has never been zero, though at times it has been very low. But even if it’s entirely rolled over and not a penny of it paid back, the debt will generate continuing interest payments, which means higher taxes for future generations unless future governments cut spending and run surpluses.

In this regard, the future looks bleak. New data from the Parliamentary Budget Officer doesn’t see a balanced federal budget until 2040. That would mean another $296 billion added to the debt between now and then — even assuming the government introduces no new spending and the economy grows for 16 years straight.

The federal government’s debt interest charges already cost taxpayers more than $1 billion. The government now wastes more money servicing the debt than it sends to the provinces in health transfers. Paying debt interest takes every