Increased Budget Payments to and Borrowing From

Global Moneylenders

The Federal Budget 2024 testifies to the speed with which the Trudeau government is using its term in office to consolidate the hold of the financial oligarchy over the country with increased borrowing from global moneylenders and servicing of a growing federal debt and interest payments.[1]

The federal deficit for the fiscal year 2023-24 is $43 billion, which is up from the $36.4 billion Finance Minister Freeland forecast in her budget update last November. The new budget forecasts deficits of $39.8 billion for 2024-25, and $38.9 billion for 2025-26. Interest payments to moneylenders for this budget year are estimated at $54 billion, which is more than the Canada Health Transfer amount to the provinces. Interest payments are projected to rise to $63.4 billion in fiscal year 2028-29. The accumulated federal debt to the global moneylenders has grown to more than $1.4 trillion.

Points from the 2024 budget show the sources of planned borrowing and issuing of government bonds to the supranational financial oligarchy:

The government plans to issue $172 billion in bonds in 2023-24.

It is tilting its borrowing further to the short end, with two-year bonds accounting for 44 per cent of total issuance.

The aggregate principal amount of money to be borrowed by the government in 2024-25 is projected to be $508 billion, 83 per cent of which will be used to refinance maturing debt (at a higher interest rate it should be noted).

The government proposes to introduce amendments to the Borrowing Authority Act to increase the government's total borrowing limit.

The size of the 2024-25 gross issuance of domestic bonds and treasury bills (i.e., domestic borrowing program) totals $500 billion. Budget documents say this reflects requirements to refinance $414 billion of maturing debt, in addition to projected financial requirements of $102 billion, which includes $30 billion to fund purchases of Canada Mortgage Bonds and a reduction of cash balances of $16 billion.

The government also intends to borrow an equivalent of $8 billion in foreign currencies, solely for the purpose of funding its official international reserves.

Note

1. See Tables A2.1 and A2.2 below.

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This article was published in

Volume 54 Number 29 - April 2024

Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2024/Articles/MS54293.HTM

Website:  www.cpcml.ca   Email:  editor@cpcml.ca