Newsrelease

June 24, 1998
Edmonton, Alberta

"This Annual Report confirms what most of us know already from living and working in Alberta – 1997-98 was a great year for our province."

Alberta Government Releases 1997-98 Results

The 1997-98 Annual Report for the Government of Alberta was released today by Provincial Treasurer Stockwell Day. The report combines performance results for the year with the province’s consolidated financial statements.

The 1997-98 report highlights good news for Albertans. More Albertans are working than ever before. Alberta’s economy is leading the country in growth. The province’s net debt is dropping dramatically, and this year, we’ve made the biggest ever payment against our debt. At the same time, targeted reinvestments in health, education and infrastructure are having a positive impact on those priority areas.

Highlights of the financial results for 1997-98 include:

• A record payment of $2.6 billion was made against Alberta’s net debt. Net debt now stands at $1.1 billion, down from a high of $8.3 billion just four years ago.
• Because we’ve been able to pay down the debt, we saved $146 million in interest costs in 1997-98.
• Total spending on programs, including one-time spending on infrastructure, was up by 7.6% or nearly $1 billion higher than the previous year. Total spending for 1997-98 was just over $15 billion.
• Spending increases reflected Albertans’ priorities. Including one-time initiatives, health spending was up by almost 10% and spending on education increased by over 9%.
• Total revenues were $17.8 billion for 1997-98. That’s up $1 billion over the previous year and $2.5 billion more than the Budget ’97 forecast.
• Tax revenues were up by nearly $1 billion in 1997-98. This is in spite of the fact that there were no increases in income tax rates. In fact, effective January 1, 1998, the basic provincial personal income tax rate was reduced and the maximum benefit for families qualifying for Alberta’s Family Employment Tax Credit was doubled.
• With more Albertans working and earning more, personal income tax revenues increased by over 12%.
• Corporate income tax revenues increased by over 31% in 1997-98 and now are nearly three times higher than they were in 1992-93.

On the performance side, there are some promising signs and some areas where more work is needed. Highlights for 1997-98 include:

• 44,200 jobs were created in 1997.
• Albertans have among the highest life expectancies in the world.
• The rate of births to young women under 18 has dropped each year since 1991, but Alberta’s rate is still higher than the Canadian average.
• 87% of Alberta’s grade 9 students achieved acceptable standards in language arts, exceeding provincial expectations of 85%.
• Math results are not as positive. Only 66% of Grade 9 math students achieved acceptable standards, well below provincial expectations of 85%.
• The number of families with incomes less than $20,000 declined to just over 9%, better than the target of 10%.
• Property crimes were down by 2.3% in 1996 but Alberta’s violent crime rate remains slightly above the Canadian average.
• Although the rate of serious youth crime fell in 1996-97, Alberta’s rate remains well above the national average.

"We take our responsibility to account to Albertans very seriously. It’s important for people to have information every year about what we planned to do, what we achieved, how much money we took in and how that money was spent. That’s information people simply don’t get in other provinces," said Day.

The Minister also added that, "This year’s very positive financial results mean we’re one big step closer to eliminating Alberta’s net debt entirely and lets us start looking ahead to the kinds of things we might do in a post-net debt era. While that takes a big burden off all Albertans, we still have $13 billion in debt that costs us $1billion in debt servicing a year."

Government’s Annual Report for 1997-98 includes the audited financial statements as well as Measuring Up, a comprehensive report on performance measures. Further information about performance measures will be included in Ministry Annual reports to be released in September.

Financial Highlights for 1997-98

• A payment of $2.6 billion was made on Alberta’s net debt subject to the Balanced Budget and Debt Retirement Act.
• Alberta’s net debt is dropping dramatically. With the 1997-98 payment, Alberta’s net debt now stands at $1.1 billion, down from a high of $8.3 billion just four years ago.
• Targeted reinvestment reflected Albertans’ priorities. Spending on programs, including one-time spending on infrastructure, was up by nearly $1 billion, 7.6% higher than 1996-97 spending levels. Total spending for 1997-98 was just over $15 billion.
• Total revenues were $17.8 billion. That’s up $1 billion over the previous year and $2.5 billion more than the Budget ’97 forecast.

Note: After viewing any table, press your "back" button to return to the document.

Click here for graphic - "Fiscal Summary"

Click here for graphic - "Consolidated Surplus"

Click here for graphic - "Corporate Income Tax Revenue"

Click here for graphic - "Climbing Out of Debt"

Click here for graphic - "Net Worth (Balance Sheet) Liabilities and Offsetting Assets"

Click here for graphic - "Summary of Performance Measures"

For more information, please contact:

Trish Filevich
Director of Communications
Alberta Treasury
Telephone (780) 427-5364
e-mail: webmaster@treas.gov.ab.ca

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