Article content continued

“In contrast, net debt per person was $8,387 in British Columbia, and net assets per person were $3,168 in Alberta in 2014-15,” the watchdog writes.

The fact 38 per cent of Ontario’s debt will mature by 2020 exacerbates the risks, LeClair notes, especially if interest rates rise in the coming years.

“According to the 2016 budget, a one percentage point increase (e.g. from 3.6 to 4.6 per cent) in interest rates would increase interest payments by about $350 million in 2016-17, more than the budgets of the Ministries of Labour and Aboriginal Affairs,” the commentary states.

Compounding the risk is the fact LeClair believes Ontario will fall back into deficit in 2018/19, just one year after Premier Kathleen Wynne has pledged to balance the budget, which has recorded yearly shortfalls since the 2008/09 recession.

Finance Minister Charles Sousa defended his government’s $160-billion infrastructure plan in a statement, saying it’s a necessary stimulus that will help lower the net-debt-to-GDP ratio — projected to hit 39.6 per cent this fiscal year.

“These capital investments spur economic growth, which will increase provincial GDP growth. The resulting increase in GDP growth will improve the net debt-to-GDP ratio, which has peaked and is beginning to decline,” Sousa said.

But the opposition says another $50 billion on the provincial debt in just four years is proof the Liberals can no longer be trusted with the public purse.