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After Alberta Finance Minister Joe Ceci delivers the province’s new budget Thursday, his plan will quickly be scrutinized by taxpayers, businesses and an array of interest groups.

Each will want to know what the $50 billion or so in provincial spending, along with its tax measures, means to them.

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But another eagle-eye group will be watching from thousands of kilometres away: credit rating agencies.

For them, the $10.4-billion deficit question is: should they downgrade Alberta’s credit rating once they’ve had a chance to pick through Ceci’s second fiscal blueprint in less than six months.

It’s not an insignificant moment.

With a weakening economy, eroding revenues and growing debt levels, the budget could determine if the province maintains it’s primarily sterling, triple-A credit rating to borrow funds.

Many rating analysts and economists said Wednesday they understand the province is still grappling with the acute short-term pain of weak commodity prices.