Finance Minister Craig Pardy is relieved that bond rating agency S&P Global Ratings has not downgraded the province’s credit rating, and he says work is underway to ensure that doesn’t happen.
While there is no immediate change in the province’s credit rating, S&P revised its economic outlook for Newfoundland and Labrador from Stable to Negative based on the province’s risk of accumulating more deficits.
The agency cited new affordability measures and higher healthcare costs as adding to the province’s “already high” and growing debt burden.
Minister Pardy says that is a concern for the province as well.
He told reporters yesterday that the government is working to get spending under control.
Pardy says government is committed to honouring its promises on affordability and “after we helped out Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, we were then going to look at our internal, fiscal house.”
He’s hopeful that Moody’s will look at the province’s fiscal situation the same way as well.
John Hogan
The Opposition is not surprised that the province’s economic outlook has been downgraded from stable to negative.
In 2022, the province’s outlook was upgraded from negative to positive, with that stable designation being maintained until this year.
Leader John Hogan says with the decision to cut the Future Fund and a budget that forecast billion dollar deficits for the next five years, “it’s no surprise that credit rating agencies have less confidence” in the province’s long-term outlook.
