Alberta remains on track to rack up a $10.3-billion deficit this year, but Finance Minister Joe Ceci says there are signs pointing to a continued rebound in the economy.
The second-quarter fiscal update predicts the economy will grow by four per cent in 2017 – up from the 2.6 per cent forecast in last spring’s budget.
Ceci said more than 70,000 full-time jobs have been added in the last 1 1/2 years, most of them in the private sector.
He also said the government is still committed to belt-tightening and has found $300 million towards its goal of saving $400 million this year through in-house savings.
But the government continues to borrow to pay for operating and building costs, and this year’s debt is forecast to rise above $42 billion.
Ceci and Premier Rachel Notley have promised to get the budget balanced by 2023, but so far haven’t offered any details on how that would be achieved.
