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OTTAWA — The federal government is writing off more than $6.3 billion in loans to businesses and students as the Trudeau government marks a new annual high in money it never expects to get back.

The Liberals have already written off some $3 billion in loans in each of the past two years, but they jumped past that mark in the fiscal year 2017-2018 with help from one loan.

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The $2.6 billion write off came through Export Development Canada as part of a loan the previous Conservative government made in 2009 to keep automaker Chrysler afloat.

There have long been concerns the government would never collect the cash it gave to the automaker out of fear its collapse would have devastating economic effects on Canada.

The company used the cash — a US$1.125 billion loan — to restructure.

Photo by Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press / THE CANADIAN PRESS

The decision to swallow the loan happened in March after the Liberals “exhausted every possible avenue” to recover it, a spokesman for International Trade Minister Jim Carr said Monday.