Distributing Sovereign Debt in a Rising Debt Environment: Outcomes from Canada’s 2024 Debt Distribution Framework Review

This paper documents Canada’s recent review of its sovereign debt distribution framework (DDF). Informed by a context of record-high debt issuance since the previous DDF review, along with comparisons with sovereign peers and insights from market participants, the review identified an important need to broaden Canada’s dealer base internationally to support a larger and more diverse set of investors. As a result, reforms to Canada’s DDF were recommended in 2024 and implemented in 2025. Key changes included revised dealer requirements to attract new international institutions to the non-Primary Dealer Government Securities Distributor (non-PD GSD) class, as well as simplification of auction rules, an increase in non-competitive bidding limits, and the introduction of a new reopening facility for off-the-run bonds.