The final numbers are in on last years’ Alberta budget, and the bottom-line figure is an $8.3-billion surplus.
That’s $2.5 billion more than officials had expected to get.
Finance Minister Nate Horner says the jump is because of more tax revenue from a growing population coupled with oil royalties that were higher than expected.
Horner says just over $5 billion of the surplus is cash the province can spend, and the government will split it between its rainy-day Heritage Fund, paying down debt and savings.
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However, the good times are not expected to last.
Horner’s current budget for the fiscal year that began in April is expected to end next spring with a $5.2-billion deficit, with more multibillion-dollar deficits in the years after that.
The province says the red ink is expected because of volatile oil prices, tax cuts and global events like the trade tariffs imposed by the United States.
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