OTTAWA, ON: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on Prime Minister Mark Carney to cut spending following today’s Parliamentary Budget Officer report forecasting the deficit to “increase sharply.”

“The PBO report should be a five-alarm siren to end the government’s debt-fueled spending spree,” said Franco Terrazzano, CTF Federal Director. “Carney must change course and cut spending because taxpayers can’t afford to pay more than $1 billion every week to cover the government’s debt interest charges.”

The PBO’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook projects this year’s “deficit to increase sharply to $68.5 billion.”

Carney’s annual borrowing will add about $255 billion to the debt over four years, according to today’s PBO report. For comparison, former prime minister Justin Trudeau planned on increasing the debt by $131 billion over those years, according to the most recent Fall Economic Statement.

Debt interest charges will cost taxpayers $55.3 billion this year, according to the PBO. That means the federal government will waste more money paying interest on the debt than it sends to the provinces in health-care transfers ($54.7 billion). Debt interest charges will cost taxpayers $82.4 billion in 2030.

“The federal debt-to-GDP ratio is projected to increase from 41.7 per cent in 2024-25, rising above 43 per cent over the medium term,” according to the PBO.

The Carney government’s spending is projected to increase by billions of dollars every year, according to the PBO.

“Carney sold Canadians on the idea he wasn’t like Trudeau and when it comes to the debt here’s the truth: Carney plans to borrow billions of dollars more than Trudeau,” Terrazzano said. “After a decade of out-of-control spending, Carney must make government more affordable and cut spending.”

The Carney government will release its first budget on Nov. 4.