All these changes have favoured increased business fixed investment in Canada, which rose from 10.3 per cent of GDP in 1992–95 to 12.4 per cent of GDP in 1996–2001. As for future objectives, it is plain that the federal government and many provinces clearly intend to pursue further significant declines in their debt-to-GDP ratios over the medium term.
The federal government, for example, has a framework of targets and contingency reserves in each annual budget that reduces to low levels the probability of running a deficit. The usual nominal growth in the economy will thus reduce the debt-to-GDP ratio.