The Province of Alberta is the most western of the three Canadian Prairie provinces. It is the fourth-largest province by population and enjoys the highest GDP per capita in the country. It also boasts the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio among the provinces.

The impact of higher oil prices and the resulting royalties has provided a significant benefit to the province and its provincial revenues. As a result, provincial borrowing shrank to C$4.4 billion for 2021/22. The Alberta government released its budget for 2022/23 and is forecasting a small surplus for 2022/23 and for the periods going forward.

Growth expectations for 2023 have been upgraded and annual GDP is forecast to expand by 5.8%. Alberta’s forecast borrowing requirement for 2023 is projected to be C$3.5 billion, which is a decrease of $15.3 billion from what was estimated in Budget 2021.

The capital markets branch of the Treasury Board and Finance Ministry is responsible for the following:

• Borrowing and risk management for the province and its provincial corporations.
• Providing investment policy advice for government investment pools and trust funds.
• Managing the provincial debt portfolio, including executing the province’s financing plan.
• Investor relations activities.
• Relations with credit rating agencies.
• Providing centralised banking, settlement and cash management services.

As at June 2021, the Province of Alberta has not developed a green, social and sustainability bond issuance strategy.

Stephen Thompson
Executive Director
+1 780 644 5011
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www.finance.alberta.ca/business/borrowing/index.html