Just to put things in perspective, the U.S. deficit is projected to be $1.2T this year.  This deficit for a single year is as much as our total accumulated debt for federal and provincial governments combined. Our federal deficit this year is a projected $15B with additional $4B cushion in case of emergency. 
The Conservatives ran deficits that  added $160B to the debt.
Simply put, I think hysteria over modest deficits are being blown out of proportion for partisan purposes.