Alberta’s debt has grown 200 per cent in last 13 years: report

CALGARY (660 NEWS) – A new report shows that Alberta is no longer lowest-debt province in the country.

The findings were published by the Fraser Institute and shows in the past two years, the debt as a share of the economy has more than doubled to the largest increase in Canada at 20.6 per cent.

The study found that from the 2007/2008 fiscal year to 2020/2021, Alberta’s provincial debt, adjusted to inflation, grew from -$43.0 billion to $63.5 billion an increase of 247.4 per cent.

In 2008, the numbers showed that Alberta had more assets than debt.

“The Alberta government’s chronic deficits over more than a decade have built a mountain of debt,” said Jake Fuss, senior economist at the Fraser Institute.

“It’s important for Albertans to understand the magnitude of the province’s debt because deficits and debt today could result in higher taxes in the future.”

In comparison, British Columbia and Saskatchewan now have a lower debt per person than Alberta with Saskatchewan having a lower provincial net debt-to-GDP ratio.

“Alberta has enjoyed the lowest debt burden of any Canadian province in recent history,” said senior policy analyst Steve Lafleur. “Not only is that no longer the case, but government debt is rising faster in Alberta than anywhere else in Canada.”

On a per-person basis, Alberta’s provincial debt burden now stands at $14,350.

The report shows that Alberta also led in Provincial Net Debt as a Percentage of GDP and Federal and Provincial Net Debt per Person.

The Fraser Institute also looked at the federal debt numbers and found that between 2007 and 2020, federal net debt increased by $570.2 billion or 89.9 per cent.

Compare those numbers to the period between 1996/1997 and 2007/2008 when the federal government reduced its net debt by $304.0 billion.