NY -- Standard&Poor's CreditWire 2/26/98 -- Standard&Poor's today affirmed its double-'A'-plus foreign currency senior unsecured debt and sovereign credit ratings on Canada. Standard&Poor's also affirmed its triple-'A' local currency senior unsecured and sovereign credit ratings on Canada. The outlook remains stable. Standard&Poor's also affirmed its `A-1'-plus sovereign credit rating and commercial paper rating on Canada. The affirmations follow the Feb. 24 tabling of the federal budget, in which the government announced the elimination of the federal deficit in the current fiscal year (ending March 31, 1998) and its intention to balance the budget in each of the two ensuing fiscal years. Fairly conservative economic assumptions and the inclusion of a contingency reserve
