Provincial Finances

What the provinces raise, spend, and owe

Provinces deliver health care, education, and most social services. They raise and borrow money to pay for these responsibilities. This page compares the ten provinces on a consistent basis using Statistics Canada’s Canadian Government Finance Statistics (CGFS). Each province’s own public accounts use different conventions. As a result, the figures here will not match a province’s own budget documents. Everything is shown as a share of each province’s GDP. The three territories are left out because they are relatively small and largely federally funded.

How much each province owes

Net debt is what a government owes after subtracting its financial assets. It is the broadest measure of a province’s accumulated fiscal position. As a share of GDP it varies widely: resource-rich Alberta carries almost none, while Ontario, Manitoba, and Newfoundland and Labrador carry the most.

What provinces raise and spend

How big is each provincial government, and is it running a surplus or a deficit? Each row below runs from revenue to expense as a share of GDP. Where the bar reaches further right, the province is spending more than it takes in (a deficit); where revenue is to the right of expense, it is in surplus. The smaller provinces run larger governments relative to their economies, partly because federal transfers top up their revenue.

Net debt over time

Provincial debt burdens have followed different paths. Alberta swung from net assets to modest debt as resource revenue fell; Newfoundland and Labrador’s burden climbed through 2020 before easing; Ontario and Quebec have brought their ratios down from peaks a decade ago. (Use the legend to isolate a province.)

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