With government budget season now over, Alberta stands out as one of only two Canadian provinces (the other being New Brunswick) to project a budget surplus in 2024-25.

That’s good news for Albertans, but it doesn’t mean we’re in the clear.

Alberta’s net debt burden (total debt minus financial assets) will reach a projected $45.5 billion this fiscal year. The government plans to slowly pay off debt over the next two fiscal years, falling to a projected $43.1 billion, but more work is required to prevent further debt accumulation in the future.

Indeed, Alberta’s current projected surplus this fiscal year ($367 million) is fuelled largely by historically high resource revenue. If resource revenue fell to its average over the past 10 years, Alberta’s........

© Edmonton Sun