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Talk about a nice housewarming gift for the new NDP government: an eye-popping $2.7-billion budget surplus, kindly left behind by Christy Clark before she cleared out of the premier’s office.

It’s the biggest pile of loot ever inherited by an incoming government in B.C. history. But it’s not expected to last long.

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The mountain of money represents the operating surplus left over from the last fiscal year and will be used to put a small dent in the province’s even-bigger accumulated debt — currently pushing around $70 billion and rising.

Finance Minister Carole James said the new government will present a “budget update” for the current fiscal year on Sept. 11. She said the budget will stay in the black, but that sloshing sound you hear is an incoming tide of red ink.

James dropped heavy hints about the fiscal direction of the new regime.

“It’s really tough for many people to see the benefit of a surplus this size when they are struggling every day to manage,” she said.