TORONTO -- Amid rising concerns about a global economic downturn, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau proclaimed Canada can easily take on higher deficits.

We're going to have some room to manoeuvre, because our plan has been rated AAA by international credit ratings,” Trudeau said at Thursday night’s French-language leaders’ debate.

“Only Germany and Canada have a unanimous AAA credit rating because our plan is reasonable when it comes to our finances.”

The reality is that several countries, including Australia and Sweden, have a unanimous triple-A rating from the three major agencies. The rating indicates how a country is faring financially.

While it's positive that Canada is in that exclusive club, the country’s deficit hovers around $19 billion under Trudeau's watch.

CTV’s Richard Madan takes a closer look at the deficit discussion during the debate.

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