British Columbia government debt

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British Columbia government debt is composed of the financial liabilities of the Canadian provincial government of British Columbia.[1]: 81 

As of 2023, the British Columbia (BC) total government debt (total liabilities) was $129.3 billion for the 2022-23 fiscal year (ending 31 March 2023).[2] Total debt consists mainly of debt securities (e.g. government-issued bonds), but includes other financial liabilities such as accounts payable.[2]: 154  The BC government had $85.2 billion in debt securities (e.g., government bonds) outstanding in 2022.[3]

British Columbia government net debt (i.e., total debt minus financial assets) was $60.7 billion in 2022–23.[2]: 154  Net debt per person was $11,329, and net debt as a percentage of provincial GDP was 15.4 percent.[2]: 154 

British Columbia became the first province in Canada to pass legislation to limit the growth in government debt in 1991.[4] Between 2000 and 2022, BC had legislation in place to limit the growth of government debt, with the measures having been introduced by both major parties (the New Democratic Party and the BC Liberal Party).[5][6][4]

Alternative measures of BC government debt[edit]

The British Columbia (BC) government focuses on its debt measured as net debt (also called net liabilities). Its net debt is defined as its total debt minus its total financial assets, which consist chiefly of investments in commercial publicly-owned (Crown) corporations, such as BC Hydro.[2]: 154  Another measure of BC government debt is its debt securities issued in the market (e.g. government bonds, bills, and debentures).[3]

Amount (billions)
Net debt (2022–23)[2] $60.7
Total debt (2022–23)[2] $129.3
Debt securities (2022)[3] $85.2

History[edit]

British Columbia government net debt was fairly stable from 1998 but rose following the 2007–2008 financial crisis before stabilizing again. Government spending accelerated after 2017, and net debt per capita started to rise in 2019.[7] British Columbia's 2024 budget projected an increase of net debt as a share of GDP from 15 percent in 2022 to 28 percent by 2026.[2][7]

British Columbia government net debt, net debt per capita, and net debt as a percentage of GDP
Fiscal year Net debt (billions) Net debt per capita Net debt as a percentage of GDP
1998–99 $21.9 $5,502 18.3
1999–00 $23.2 $5,777 18.4
2000–01 $23.9 $5,928 17.6
2001–02 $25.6 $6,286 18.5
2002–03 $28.6 $6,965 19.8
2003–04 $29.8 $7,222 19.6
2004–05 $28.4 $6,826 17.2
2005–06 $27.1 $6,458 15.3
2006–07 $24.5 $5,771 12.9
2007–08 $23.9 $5,565 11.9
2008–09 $26.4 $6,072 12.8
2009–10 $29.6 $6,718 15.0
2010–11 $32.2 $7,216 15.6
2011–12 $37.1 $8,247 17.0
2012–13 $39.5 $8,631 17.7
2013–14 $40.3 $8,686 17.4
2014–15 $40.2 $8,529 16.5
2015–16 $41.2 $8,648 16.4
2016–17 $39.4 $8,109 14.9
2017–18 $43.5 $8,820 15.4
2018–19 $43.8 $8,732 14.7
2019–20 $46.9 $9,175 15.2
2020–21 $54.8 $10,588 17.8
2021–22 $57.5 $10,994 16.1
2022–23 $60.7 $11,329 15.4
2023–24* $73.7 $13,359 18.1
2024–25* $92.6 $16,322 22.0
2025–26* $112.1 $19,390 25.5
2026–27* $128.8 $21,932 28.0
Note: Data for 2023–24 to 2026–27 are B.C. 2024 budget estimates.[2]: 154 

Sources: For 1999–2000 to 2022–23: "Net debt" is from the Department of Finance, Canada, Fiscal Reference Tables, October 2023, Table 27: British Columbia.[8] For 2023–24 to 2026–2027: Net debt are estimates from Table A15, Budget 2024: Budget and Fiscal Plan 2024/25 – 2026/27, British Columbia Ministry of Finance.[2]

Table definitions: Per capita net debt is calculated using the population on July 1 in the fiscal year (e.g. for 2022–23 net debt is divided by population on 1 July 2022). The fiscal year ends 31 March. Population is from Statistics Canada.[9] Net debt as a percentage of GDP is calculated using nominal GDP for the calendar year ending in the fiscal year (e.g. for 2022–23, net debt is divided by GDP for the 2022 calendar year.) GDP is from Statistics Canada.[10] The net debt series begins in 1998–99 since earlier data is not directly comparable, due to a break in the data following the move to comply with generally accepted accounting principles.[8]

Legislation to limit government debt in BC[edit]

As with over 100 countries around the world, and all but one U.S. state, British Columbia has used legislation to limit the growth of government debt.[11][12] BC was the first province in Canada to limit the growth of government debt with its Taxpayer Protection Act in 1991.[4] The act required a balanced budget on a cumulative basis over the succeeding five-year period, and spending growth was limited to the rate of average GDP growth over the previous five years.[13]: 5  The law was repealed in 1992.[4][14]: 8 

In 1994, a Debt Management Plan, and two successor plans, were introduced to balance the budget and limit the growth of debt.[14]: 8–10  The government passed the Balanced Budget Act in 2000, arguing "equity demands that future generations of British Columbians not be burdened with an unsustainable level of debt", and that BC needed to maintain its position as a low-debt province so it would have the financial flexibility to make adequate investments in health, education, social justice, and the environment.[15][4][16]

In 2001, a newly elected government introduced the Balanced Budget and Ministerial Accountability Act.[6] As with the previous law, cabinet ministers would lose up to 20 percent of their annual salaries if budget targets were not met.[4][17]: 296–297  The act was amended in 2009 to allow for two years of deficit spending, due to the fall in provincial revenues following the worldwide 2007–2008 financial crisis.[17]: 302 

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the government introduced the Economic Stabilization Act which suspended for three years the law that prohibited deficit budgets.[18] In 2022, the balanced-budget component of the law was abolished permanently.[5][19]

Characteristics[edit]

Funding sources[edit]

British Columbia's debt securities are held mainly by investors in Canada. Of the province's gross debt outstanding on 31 December 2023, 72 percent was held by lenders in Canada, 21 percent in the U.S., with the rest in Europe and elsewhere.[20][21]

Currency of denomination[edit]

Most of the outstanding market debt issued by the British Columbia government is issued in Canadian dollars. On 31 December 2023, 73.7 percent was issued in Canadian dollars, 20.9 percent in U.S. dollars, 4.3 percent in euros, 1.0 percent in Australian dollars, and 0.1 percent in Swiss francs.[22] Provincial government debt includes securities issued by the province directly, and by the province's public-sector (Crown) corporations and agencies.[22] Exchange rate risk is restricted by hedging using financial instruments.[23] Among British Columbia's public-sector corporations, only BC Hydro carries U.S. dollar debt exposure, and this exposure is hedged through U.S. dollar revenue inflows and other financial hedges.[23]

Debt maturity[edit]

The province of British Columbia and its public-sector corporations and agencies have issued debt across the range of terms from one to 40 years.[23] Of British Columbia's long-term debt issued from April to December 2023, 24 percent had a term to maturity of 4 to 7 years, 48 percent, had a term of 8 to 12 years, and 28 percent had a term of 13 to 40+ years.[24]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Government finance statistics manual 2014 (PDF) (Report). International Monetary Fund. ISBN 978-1-49837-916-8.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Table A15, Budget 2024: Budget and Fiscal Plan 2024/25 – 2026/27" (PDF). British Columbia Ministry of Finance.
  3. ^ a b c "Table 10-10-0147-01 Canadian government finance statistics, statement of operations and balance sheet for consolidated government". Statistics Canada. 22 November 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "B.C.'s amended balanced budget law to allow 2 years of deficits". CBC News. 9 February 2009.
  5. ^ a b Leyne, Les (7 April 2022). "Red-ink penalties scaled back for B.C. cabinet ministers, boosting their salaries: B.C. cabinet ministers were losing part of their salaries if the budget wasn't balanced". Victoria Times Colonist.
  6. ^ a b "Balanced Budget and Ministerial Accountability Act [SBC2001] Chapter 28". Queen's Printer: Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. 16 August 2001.
  7. ^ a b Tombe, Trevor (7 March 2024). "Canada's two richest provinces are playing with fiscal fire: B.C. is financing spending with borrowing, while Alberta is riding the resource rollercoaster harder than ever". The Hub.
  8. ^ a b "Table 27: British Columbia, Fiscal Reference Tables". Department of Finance, Canada. October 2023.
  9. ^ "Table 17-10-0005-01 Population estimates on July 1, by age and gender". Statistics Canada.
  10. ^ "Table 36-10-0222-01 Gross domestic product, expenditure-based, provincial and territorial, annual". Statistics Canada.
  11. ^ "What are state balanced budget requirements and how do they work?". Tax Policy Center: Urban Institute & Brookings Institution. January 2024.
  12. ^ Davoodi, Hamid; et, al (January 2022). "Fiscal Rules Dataset: 1985-2021". International Monetary Fund.
  13. ^ Millar, Jonathan (June 1997). The Effects of Budget Rules on Fiscal Performance and Macroeconomic Stabilization (PDF) (Report). Financial Markets Department, Bank of Canada. ISBN 0-662-25942-4.
  14. ^ a b Milke, Mark (June 2020). Protecting Taxpayers: Balanced Budget Legislation in Canada and in British Columbia (PDF) (Report). Canadian Taxpayers Federation.
  15. ^ "Balanced Budget Act [SBC 2000] Chapter 21". 6 September 2000.
  16. ^ "Budget Transparency and Accountability Act [SBC 2000] Chapter 23". 6 July 2000.
  17. ^ a b Simpson, Wayne; Wesley, Jared (2012). "Effective Tool or Effectively Hollow: Balanced Budget Legislation in Western Canada". Canadian Public Policy. 38 (3): 291–313.
  18. ^ Hunter, Justine (24 June 2020). "B.C. abandons balanced budget law for three years in wake of pandemic". The Globe and Mail.
  19. ^ "Balanced Budget and Ministerial Accountability Act [SBC 2001] Chapter 28". Queen's Printer. 16 April 2024.
  20. ^ "Total Market Debt Outstanding by Source: December 31, 2023" (PDF). Government of British Columbia.
  21. ^ "Provincial debt overview". Government of British Columbia.
  22. ^ a b "Gross Market Debt Outstanding by Currency as at December 31, 2023" (PDF). Government of British Columbia.
  23. ^ a b c "How B.C. debt is managed". Province of British Columbia. 3 April 2024.
  24. ^ "Borrowing Activity as of December 31, 2023". Government of British Columbia.
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