You asked about performance measures.
Debt-to-GDP, when making comparison between countries, is a good ratio to use. The other one that might be relevant for you, if you're looking for an independent one, is credit ratings. If you look at Moody's or Standard & Poor's and the credit ratings of the various institutions, the Government of Canada's is as good as it can be. If you're looking for an external validation, that might be useful.