It's a stretch to assign any similarity between Canada's red-hot economy and debt-plagued Greece these days, but almost two decades ago, Canada's growing debt problems were also causing headaches for investors.
Canada's saving grace back then was a period of falling interest rates – something Greece, unfortunately, won't be able to rely on.
"Canada while not in exactly the same boat, experienced a similiar set of circumstances in the 1990s," Stewart Hall, an economist at HSBC Canada said.
"Essentially we shared the same need to introduce a program of fiscal austerity as markets at the time began to push back against the seemingly unending supply of Canadian paper."
Mr. Hall said Canada's debt burden was eased by a protracted period in which interest rates cascaded lower. That helped lower the debt service costs at the same time that government was wrestling the deficit lower through reduced spending.
For Greece, however, the situation is made considerably more challenging under the auspices of a rising rate structure, he said.
"As concern grows and bond spreads blow out, so too do the funding and servicing costs of that pile of Greek debt begin to mount. Which is to say, more tax revenues begin to get eaten up by servicing costs applying more pressure on fiscal authorities," the economist said.