The Public Accounts Committee, the group of politicians which keeps an eye on the province’s finances, says that because of government debt, the amount that each man, woman and child owes has increased by about a thousand dollars.
Net debt per capita increased from $33,591 in the 2024-25 fiscal year to almost $34,700 last year.
The P.A.C. says the increase is primarily the result of an increase in net debt and the loss of 285 people in our population count.
Newfoundland and Labrador’s net debt per capita has been greater than the average of the other jurisdictions for the past five years and is greater than it was in 2021-22. Net debt per person for the Maritimes and the rest of Canada has increased from 2024-25.
And, the province has a smaller population to carry the net debt burden than all other jurisdictions with the exception of PEI.
Since the compilation of the P.A.C. report, high oil and gas prices have resulted in a financial windfall for Newfoundland and Labrador, but the improved financial numbers won’t be available until the Fall Financial Update, expected soon.
