Premier Andrew Furey is defending his track record following a recent study by the Fraser Institute that sees him ranked dead last among the country’s ten provincial premiers in terms of fiscal management.

The study, titled Measuring the Fiscal Performance of Canada’s Premiers, ranks the premiers on things like government spending, taxation, and debt and deficit.

The report shows Furey ranked last in managing provincial finances, last in overall fiscal performance, 9th on deficits and debt and 8th on taxes.

Furey doesn’t agree with the less-than-flattering assessment.

Furey told reporters yesterday that he suspects the report does not include the province’s latest fiscal update. He says the province had a $2.2 billion projected deficit when he took office, and was approaching $17 to $18 billion in net debt. “In this fiscal year the province has turned around,” he says, “with no deficit booked, $200 million being advanced to the Future Fund and $1 billion in debt having been paid down.”