It was just a few years ago when the previous government had a debt-to-GDP and net debt-to-GDP target, or accumulated debt target, of 25% in 2011 and 2012. Now we're dealing with a net debt-to-GDP of about 34%. Now we're talking about trying to get back because of the recession, because of the stimulus package. We're trying to get back to something that will look like 25% in 2020 and 2021.
I don't think economists could tell political leaders that there's a right level of debt relative to GDP. I think it's your decision. One thing that's important, as somebody who worked at the finance department for years, is the carrying cost of that debt. When this government inherited a pretty strong fiscal structure, a fiscal surplus, they were paying roughly 13 cents of every revenue dollar for debt interest charges. In the 1990s, just as an example, we were paying 38 cents on every revenue dollar in public debt interest.
As we move forward, you want to keep debt relatively low so we can keep the carrying cost low on that debt.