Despite the BC Liberal government’s return to budget deficits, the province has received another AAA credit rating.
Standard & Poor’s, which is the third largest agency to recently confirm B.C.’s high credit rating, said in a report that the province’s debt reduction in recent years gave it an increased capacity to respond to the global recession.
The credit rating agency and financial analysis company added that from 2004 to 2007, B.C. used some of its strong operating and after-capital surpluses to reduce its direct and tax-supported debt.
Dominion Bond Rating Services recently gave B.C. a slightly lower but nonetheless high AA rating.
It said the province’s fiscal recovery plan is relatively unchanged from last year and is supported by prudent spending discipline, a low debt burden and expectations for continued economic recovery.
Dominion added that it expects B.C. to be one of the first provinces in Canada to return to a balanced budget because of its strong fiscal resolve.
When Moody’s affirmed its AAA rating for B.C. earlier this year, it noted that the significant debt reduction efforts of the past few years have put B.C. in a stronger position to deal with recently recorded and anticipated deficits and increases in debt.