British Columbia government debt

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. Another measure of BC government debt is its debt securities issued in the market (e.g. government bonds, bills, and debentures). ==History==

British Columbia government net debt was fairly stable from 1998 but rose after the 2008 financial crisis before stabilizing again. Government spending accelerated after 2017, and net debt per capita started to rise in 2019. British Columbia's 2025 budget projected an increase of net debt as a share of GDP from 15.2 percent in 2022-23 to 32.1 percent by 2027-28. ==Legislation to limit government debt in BC==

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. BC was the first province in Canada to limit the growth of government debt with its Taxpayer Protection Act in 1991. 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. The law was repealed in 1992. In 1994, a Debt Management Plan, and two successor plans, were introduced to balance the budget and limit the growth of debt. In 2001, a newly elected government introduced the Balanced Budget and Ministerial Accountability Act. As with the previous law, cabinet ministers would lose up to 20 percent of their annual salaries if budget targets were not met. The act was amended in 2009 to allow for two years of deficit spending, due to the fall in provincial revenues after the 2008 financial crisis. In 2022, the balanced-budget component of the law was abolished permanently. ==Characteristics==

Funding sources 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. Currency of denomination 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. Provincial government debt includes securities issued by the province directly, and by the province's public-sector (Crown) corporations and agencies. 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. ==See also==