Nova Scotia’s debt problem could ‘get worse’: Fraser Institute study

CITYnews halifax / By Chris Halef

According to a new study, Nova Scotia has one of the highest combined government debt-to-GDP ratios in the country.

A new study from the Fraser Institute called the Growing Debt Burden for Canadians looked at the combined federal and provincial debt burdens across Canada and compared it to their respective economies.

The study found Nova Scotia has the fourth worst rating in the country at 89.1 percent.

The only provinces that have worse ratios are Manitoba in top spot, Newfoundland and Labrador at number two and Quebec in third position.

The study says the Atlantic provinces claimed four of the top six spots as the region is facing significant fiscal challenges, adding it would take nearly every dollar in the respective Atlantic provincial economies over one year to pay off their combined federal and provincial debt.

“Provincial governments across Atlantic Canada are facing significant fiscal challenges as a result of their large government debt burdens, a problem that appears poised to get worse moving forward based on current fiscal policy,” says Jake Fuss, Fraser Institute’s director of fiscal studies and co-author of the report.