Canada has made $367M in budgetary loans to China
Some of the loans, according to a response to an order paper question by Export Development Canada, are not scheduled to be repaid until 2044. The loans were made primarily between the 1980s to the early 2000s to Beijing to “support Canadian exports”.
The loan program to the world's second-largest economy seems to have been terminated under the Conservative government of former prime minister Stephen Harper, as documents showing the last loan was issued July 13, 2005, a half-year before the Liberals under Paul Martin lost power.
The inquiry of ministry wherein the information was made public was posed by Alberta Conservative MP Kelly McCauley:
With regard to the budgetary loan provided to China in the amount of $365,714,786, listed on page 307 of the 2021 Public Accounts of Canada, what interest rate is China paying on the loan; and what are the terms and length of repayment agreed to by China in relation to the loan?
The documents state the borrowers' names were withheld to maintain confidentiality. However, the lengths, amounts and interest rates for each loan are detailed in the order paper response.
A series of loans made in 2005 under Liberal prime minister Paul Martin totalling nearly $5-million have a 39-year repayment length at interest rates of just over 5%.
Sheila Gunn Reid
Chief Reporter
Sheila Gunn Reid is the Alberta Bureau Chief for Rebel News and host of the weekly The Gunn Show with Sheila Gunn Reid. She's a mother of three, conservative activist, and the author of best-selling books including Stop Notley.
