Provincial Debt
Alberta's commitment to fiscal responsibility
Alberta’s commitment to fiscal responsibility continues as the cornerstone of our province’s strength. Budget 2008 is the 15th consecutive balanced budget. Alberta has a Triple A credit rating, and is the only province in Canada with total financial assets that exceeds total liabilities.
In March 2005, the government established the $3.5 billion Debt Retirement Account, equal to the amount of accumulated debt at that time. The assets in this account will only be used to repay the remaining accumulated debt as it matures. Over the last three years, $1.691 billion of those assets were used to repay the maturing debt as it came due. The remaining accumulated debt is $1.7840 billion at March 31, 2008. From its peak in 1993-94, the government has eliminated $23 billion of accumulated debt.
The money in the Debt Retirement Account has been invested in high quality government and corporate fixed income investments, with terms matching maturing debt issues.
On this page you will find links to information from the Treasury Management Division on how it manages the debt and works to keep interest cost, called debt servicing costs, low.
Alberta’s steady debt reduction plan has saved Alberta about $1.5 billion in annual debt servicing costs. That means millions of dollars every year that can be reinvested in priority areas important to Albertans, such as health, education, infrastructure, savings, and tax cuts.
Further details on Alberta’s debt and other fiscal information are contained in the Budget 2008 Fiscal Plan.
See also: Debt Management Information (updated August 26, 2008).
