New Brunswick’s Auditor General remains concerned about the province’s net debt.
In her report this morning, Kim MacPherson revealed a small annual surplus from 2018 of $67 million.
She says that is an improvement over the budgeted deficit of $192 million and the $117 million deficit recorded the year before, “To me, this shows encouraging signs of fiscal progress in the short term. So it is a slight improvement.”
But MacPherson emphasized the word slight, because she feels action is still required to get the province’s fiscal house in order..
“This past year, even though there was a surplus of $67 million, net debt still went up by $106 million and that’s because the investment and capital assets was offset by the surplus of $67 million,” MacPherson says.
She adds that the surplus is a result of the province collecting higher tax revenues and transfers from the federal government, while underspending its budgeted expenses for the year.
MacPherson says, “New Brunswick, back in 2009, our net debt per capita was $10, 100. That is what each New Brunswicker would have to pay if we were to have to pay out the debt. In 2018, it increased to $18,300.”
“When comparing New Brunswick’s net debt per capita with other provinces, we have now surpassed Nova Scotia, “MacPherson says.
She says this comes as a surprise, because if you look back to 2009, Nova Scotia’s net debt was quite a bit higher than New Brunswick’s.
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