On Nov. 19, 2003, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services affirmed its 'AAA' long-term issuer credit and senior unsecured debt ratings on the Province of Alberta. At the same time, Standard&Poor's affirmed its 'A-1+' short-term issuer credit and global scale CP ratings and the 'A-1(High)' Canadian national scale CP rating on Alberta, and the 'AAA' rating on the guaranteed debt outstanding of the Alberta Capital Finance Authority. The outlook is stable. The ratings on Alberta reflect: The province's extremely low debt burden by both Canadian and international standards and expectations of further declines in net tax-supported debt as a share of GDP by fiscal 2005 (year ending March 31). The government's conservative and prudent budget management, which seeks to
