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Next year alone, net debt in Ontario will be rising by 7.7%

No matter who wins the Ontario election, the newly elected government will be faced with a fiscal hole that gets only wider and deeper. If the province is to gets its fiscal situation under control, either revenues need to increase or spending restrained by billions. There are no quick and easy solutions.

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[np_storybar title=”Day of reckoning nears as Ontario faces risk of fresh credit downgrade” link=”http://business.financialpost.com/2014/06/06/ontario-election-deficit/”]Theresa Tedesco: For a province that is hugely dependent on tapping lines of credit, a future downgrade could severely cripple Ontario’s ability to function. Keep reading.

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Let me detail Ontario’s house of debt to understand the gravity of the situation. The 2014 Liberal budget projected gross debt is expected to increase from $296-billion in 2013-14 to $311-billion by 2014-15. After subtracting financial assets, net debt will rise from $269-billion in 2013-14 to $289-billion in 2014-15.