Canada's national debt hits $600 billion

• Tweet

OTTAWA, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- Canada's national debt rose past the $600 billion mark this weekend, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation says.

That works out to $17,143 for every man, woman and child in Canada.

Foundation Director Gregory Thomas Friday blamed government spending, including what he called Prime Minister Stephen Harper's excessive and unnecessary economic stimulus efforts, CTV News reported.

"You can't sit through a football game without seeing all this propaganda about what a terrific job the government's doing," he said. "They're borrowing money to sell Canadians on themselves."

By comparison, Canada's neighbor just to the south, the United States, has racked up $16.28 trillion in debt or $51,683 per person. There are nine times as many Americans as Canadians, but their national debt is 27 times larger.