Ottawa, November 13, 2013
2013-148
The Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, issued the following statement in response to Standard & Poor’s ratings report, which today reaffirmed Canada’s top credit rating:
“I am pleased to note that Standard & Poor’s has once again confirmed the federal government’s triple-A credit rating, highlighting in its report our stable and credible policymaking and a highly resilient economy, even in the face of a fragile global economy.
“The report also touts high investor confidence, and in particular our continued openness to trade, as reliable indicators of Canada’s future economic success. This endorsement follows our recently announced agreement in principle on a comprehensive trade agreement with the European Union (EU). The trade agreement will make Canada one of only a few developed economies to have preferential access to the world’s two largest markets—the EU and the U.S.—which together represent more than 800 million relatively affluent consumers and almost half of global gross domestic product.
“As I announced in our Economic Update yesterday, the Government’s number one priority remains the economy. Because of that unwavering focus, more than one million more Canadians are working now than at the time of the trough in employment in July 2009—the best job creation record in the Group of Seven industrialized countries.
“What’s more, taking the long view has kept us on track to return to budgetary balance in 2015, as promised, with an expected surplus of $3.7 billion.
”We are clearly on the right track, and will take action whenever necessary so that Canada will continue to maintain the confidence of international investors, of credit rating agencies like Standard and Poor’s and, most importantly, of Canadians themselves.”
