Analysis · Debate reply · beta

Ryan Turnbull

Liberal on Adjournment Proceedings 2026-09-23

498 words · 26 sentences · 40 clauses

Replying to Greg McLean (Conservative)

“Madam Speaker, I rise today to raise what I have raised in this House many times: the problem with Canada’s mounting debt. We talked about this back in the spring when I last asked a question about it. I have since heard throughout the summer about all kinds of spending the government wants to do that was not part of the $65-billion deficit that it indicated in last year’s spring update. Spending is continuing to mount with the government. It is as if we have a new economist as our Prime Minister who has not understood the problem with the escalating debt we have in this country. Let me give some examples, because we are a basket case when we look at the total amount of debt that Canadians have, not just government debt in Canada. The national government debt alone is approaching $1.5 trillion. Provincial debts on top of that amount to almost $1 trillion at this point in time. Of course, there is always the other debt, and that is the one that Canadians hold. Canadian individual household debt amounts to about $3.2 trillion, and then corporately Canadians have about $3.8 trillion outstanding. This is an amazing amount of debt. Combined, as an actual function of GDP, Canada, government-wise, has about 100% of its debt to GDP at the government level, about 101% at the household level and about 118% at the corporate level. That means 318% of Canada’s GDP is held in debt, debt that it has to pay interest on. We are concerned here about the federal government’s debt, because I cannot argue about all the rest. There are impacts throughout the rest of the debt based on what happens at the federal level. The more the federal government spends, the more it goes into debt and the more it is going to have to pay in interest. The more it pays in interest, the more debt outstanding causes other interest rates to go up, including for all the financial debt outstanding to corporations and all the debt outstanding for mortgages and loans to consumers. This is a massive amount of money. We have all seen that around the world, central banks are increasing their lending rates right now. That means that the debt profile is going to continue to go up and the amount of interest paid is going to continue to go up. Why is this so significant for the federal government? It is because fully 29% of the Government of Canada’s outstanding debt is due within the next year. If we think about how much money is going to have to be refinanced, 29% of almost $1.5 trillion is going to be refinanced within the next 12 months. That is an amazing amount of money, first of all, to go to debt markets. Some of that is expiring debt, and some of it is going to be new debt. I think there is going to be more new debt with the way the government is spending money, but that is just what is expected to be renewed at this point in time. That will mean that the $57 billion Canadians are actually paying in interest payments right now is going to skyrocket. Think about that. Think about the actual rate that the government pays right now, which is about 2.5%, as a debt profile across its full portfolio. Think about one-third of that falling off and paying 100 basis points more. This is fully one-third of $1.5 trillion, or $500 billion. Where we are paying 1% more, this is going to impact Canadians significantly. We are going to have higher debt payments and higher interest payments as a result of the government’s profligate spending. The issue we want to get to is how we get to a better spending profile. Short-term financing is not taken by the provinces. All the provinces have a much more flat, low-impact duration for when their payments are due. The federal government is the one that is the most ramped up toward the front end of the repayment schedule. When I heard the finance minister for the government talk this summer about—”

Statement grade

Average 91 / 100

A score under 50 is red. Choose a measurement to see where it lost points and why; choose it again to clear.

Greeting 2%Procedure 1%Claims 77%Reasoning 10%Promise 5%Positioning 4%

This view breaks the statement into its steps and names what each one does.

Madam Speaker, Greeting · 12 wordsit is great to be here tonight to answer my colleague’s question.Greeting Procedure · 6 wordsLet us put this in perspective.Procedure Claims · 147 wordsCanada has the strongest fiscal position in the G7.¹ It has the lowest net debt-to-GDP ratio.² It has a AAA credit rating, ³which only one other country in the G7 enjoys, which is Germany.⁴ This gives it a relatively low debt service cost. The IMF has confirmed that Canada is projected to have the second-strongest growth in the G7.⁵ When the current government came into power under the Prime Minister’s leadership, we launched a comprehensive expenditure review, which found $60 billion in savings in terms of optimizing operational budgets and looking for ways to optimize the way the government operates.⁶ It was a significant savings exercise. We are focused on a capital budgeting framework, which we developed, and capital formation in the economy is really why the government has moved forward with generational investments in housing, infrastructure and defence, as well as innovation- and productivity-boosting tax measures. Reasoning · 30 wordsThis is all to create a virtuous circle within the economy of investment, higher growth and additional tax revenues, which can move us down the path toward reducing our deficit.Vague promise Claims · 131 wordsAn “investment supercycle” is what TD Bank has called it recently.⁷ I think RBC also called it the same, which is a positive feedback loop of additional investment. We are seeing that working. Canada has added 217,000 jobs, ⁸which is twice the rate of the United States.⁹ We have had 3.3% second-quarter growth of GDP, the fastest in the G7.¹⁰ Per capita GDP grew by 3.9% in Q2 as real GDP increased and population continued to decline in Canada.¹¹ Business investment grew at 8.9%, ¹²and foreign direct investment is at a nearly 20-year high at $97 billion.¹³ We also saw, out of the Prime Minister’s investment summit just recently, that our government attracted from domestic investors, our major financial institutions and pension plans, commitments of almost $500 billion of new investment.¹⁴ Promise · 27 wordsObviously now we have to work to ensure that there is a project pipeline of viable, bankable projects that can be financed by domestic and global investors, Vague promiseClaims · 104 wordsbut these signs are good news. At the investment summit, as I am sure the member opposite can agree, the Prime Minister announced that we are reducing, cutting in half, our marginal effective tax rate on new business investment, making Canada the most tax-competitive advanced economy in the entire world.¹⁵ That is from a 13% marginal effective tax rate to a 6.4% marginal effective tax rate.¹⁶ That is 10% lower than in the United States, one-third of the OECD average and one-quarter of the G7 average, ¹⁷and it now will apply from 15% of capital assets to 65% of capital assets in our economy.¹⁸ Reasoning · 21 wordsThat is going to bring more investment into this country and allow, again, that investment supercycle in Canada to take place. Positioning · 20 wordsThis is responsible fiscal management from our government. I understand the member opposite’s concerns, Partly on pointbut I think we have this.Positioning

At a glance

Lost points for
AnsweredOf this reply, 99% addressed the question or point raised.
Echo ×14“Canada has the strongest fiscal position in the G7.” Said 14 times by 7 members.Every time it was said

Switch Claims on to list the checkable claims here.

What the tags mean

Signal · 83

5 of 8 deductions are Signal

Signal checks whether every part makes a point, gives a reason, or asks for action. A low score means the speaker filled time with fluff, pleasantries, or attacks.

Greetings and pleasantries.What the tags mean “it is great to be here tonight to answer my colleague’s question.”A greeting: no claim, reason or ask.
Throat-clearing: announcing what you are about to say, or the House’s routine business.What the tags mean “Let us put this in perspective.”Procedure or throat-clearing: no claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “This is responsible fiscal management from our government.”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “I understand the member opposite’s concerns,”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “but I think we have this.”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.

Relevance · 98

1 of 8 deductions are Relevance

Relevance checks whether the speaker stays on topic and answers the question asked. A low score means the speaker dodged the issue. Measured against the question on notice, as the member's speech raises it.

Staying near the subject without addressing the matter at hand: what was asked, or what the bill, motion or speech is about.What the tags mean “I understand the member opposite’s concerns,”It only acknowledges the member’s concerns without addressing the debt or spending question.

Respect · 100

0 of 8 deductions are Respect

Respect checks whether the speaker argued with people’s positions and records rather than attacking the people: insults, mockery, or bad motives assigned to them. Criticism of what someone did, however strong, is not marked.

Nothing lost points.

Clarity · 83

2 of 8 deductions are Clarity

Clarity checks for plain speaking, clear ownership of actions, and honest limits on certainty. A low score means vague promises or evasive language.

A promise with no date, no measure and no one responsible.What the tags mean “move us down the path toward reducing our deficit”The commitment to reduce the deficit names no actor, measure, date or success condition beyond a ‘path’.
A promise with no date, no measure and no one responsible.What the tags mean “we have to work to ensure”A commitment to work toward ensuring projects with no actor, date, measure or success condition.

Echo · 1 repeated line

Words members of Parliament keep repeating, found by the same rule for every member. No score depends on it.

“Canada has the strongest fiscal position in the G7.”Said 14 times by 7 members.Every time it was said

Claims · 18

This list shows the factual statements you can check for yourself: the words as said, and the claim restated to stand on its own.

1“Canada has the strongest fiscal position in the G7”Canada has the strongest fiscal position in the G7.search
2“lowest net debt-to-GDP ratio”Canada has the lowest net debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7.search
3“It has a AAA credit rating”Canada has a AAA credit rating.search
4“Germany”Germany is the only other G7 country with a AAA credit rating.search
5“the second-strongest growth in the G7”The IMF projects Canada to have the second-strongest growth in the G7.search
6“found $60 billion in savings”The government’s expenditure review found $60 billion in savings in operational budgets.search
7“An “investment supercycle” is what TD Bank has called it recently”TD Bank recently called it an ‘investment supercycle’.search
8“Canada has added 217,000 jobs”Canada has added 217,000 jobs.search
9“twice the rate of the United States”Canada’s job growth was twice the rate of the United States.search
10“3.3% second-quarter growth of GDP, the fastest in the G7”Canada’s second-quarter GDP growth was 3.3%, the fastest in the G7.search
11“Per capita GDP grew by 3.9% in Q2”Canada’s per capita GDP grew by 3.9% in the second quarter as real GDP increased and population declined.search
12“Business investment grew at 8.9%”Canada’s business investment grew at 8.9%.search
13“foreign direct investment is at a nearly 20-year high at $97 billion”Canada’s foreign direct investment is at a nearly 20-year high of $97 billion.search
14“commitments of almost $500 billion of new investment”At the Prime Minister’s investment summit, domestic investors, financial institutions and pension plans committed almost $500 billion of new investment.search
15“cutting in half, our marginal effective tax rate on new business investment”The Prime Minister announced at the investment summit that Canada is cutting in half its marginal effective tax rate on new business investment.search
16“from a 13% marginal effective tax rate to a 6.4% marginal effective tax rate”Canada’s marginal effective tax rate on new business investment is being reduced from 13% to 6.4%.search
17“10% lower than in the United States, one-third of the OECD average and one-quarter of the G7 average”Canada’s new marginal effective tax rate is 10% lower than the United States’, one-third of the OECD average and one-quarter of the G7 average.search
18“apply from 15% of capital assets to 65% of capital assets in our economy”The reduced marginal effective tax rate will apply from 15% to 65% of capital assets in Canada’s economy.search

Analysed on 2026-10-20