Archived - Frequently Asked Questions About the Annual Financial Report 2016

A. The Annual Financial Report (AFR) provides an overview of the Government of Canada’s financial results for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016.

The AFR also includes condensed consolidated financial statements of the Government and the audit opinion of the Auditor General of Canada.

The purpose of the AFR is to provide information regarding the Government’s annual financial results at the earliest opportunity, once the results have been finalized and the statements have been audited by the Auditor General of Canada.

The complete consolidated financial statements will be made available on the Public Services and Procurement Canada website once the Public Accounts of Canada 2016 have been tabled in Parliament.

A. The following are the highlights:

• The AFR shows a budgetary deficit of $1.0 billion for 2015–16.
• Revenues increased by $13.1 billion, or 4.6 per cent, from 2014–15, largely reflecting growth in income tax revenues and other taxes and duties.
• Program expenses increased by $17.0 billion, or 6.7 per cent, reflecting increases in major transfers to persons and other levels of government and direct program expenses.
• Canada’s total government net debt-to-GDP (gross domestic product) ratio stood at 26.7 per cent in 2015—the lowest in the Group of Seven (G7).

A. The federal debt (accumulated deficit) is the federal government’s main measure of debt. It is equal to the Government’s total liabilities less total assets, measured on a Public Accounts basis.

Net debt is the difference between total liabilities and financial assets.

International comparisons of net debt, such as those published by the IMF, are made on a total government, National Accounts basis, which for Canada includes the net debt of the federal, provincial/territorial and local governments, as well as the net assets in the Canada Pension Plan and Québec Pension Plan.

Further information on these debt measures can be found in the annex of the AFR.

A. Canada’s debt level compares very well with other G7 economies.

Canada’s total government net debt-to-GDP ratio, as reported by the independent IMF, stood at 26.7 per cent in 2015.

This is the lowest level among G7 countries, and less than half the G7 average, which the IMF expects will be 83.0 per cent of GDP in the same year.

This measure of debt includes the net debt of the federal, provincial/territorial and local governments, as well as the net assets held in the Canada Pension Plan and Québec Pension Plan.