Frequently Asked Questions About the Annual Financial Report

What is the Annual Financial Report?

The Annual Financial Report (AFR) provides an overview of the Government of Canada's financial results for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2018.

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, found in Volume I of the Public Accounts of Canada 2018, are available on the Public Services and Procurement Canada website.

What are the highlights of this year's AFR?

The following are the highlights:

• The Government posted a budgetary deficit of $19.0 billion for 2017–18, down from the estimated deficit of $19.9 billion in Budget 2018.
• The federal debt-to-GDP (gross domestic product) ratio fell to 31.3%, down 0.7 percentage points from the previous year.
• For the 20^th consecutive year, the Government has received an unmodified audit opinion from the Auditor General of Canada on the consolidated financial statements.

How does our debt level compare with other developed countries?

Canada's debt level compares very well with other Group of Seven (G7) economies.

Canada's total government net debt-to-GDP ratio, as reported by the International Monetary Fund, stood at 27.8% in 2017.

This is the lowest level among G7 countries, and less than half the G7 average, which the IMF expects will be 87.5% 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 Quebec Pension Plan.