Supporting the ratings on the Province of Ontario are what Standard&Poor's Ratings Services view as Ontario's large, wealthy, and well-diversified economy, which continues to recover, albeit unevenly, from the recession, ongoing support from the federal government, and positive liquidity. The provincial government estimates that real GDP slowed to 1.8% in 2011 from a 3.0% gain in 2010. The government is forecasting real GDP growth to advance a further 1.7% in 2012. While recognizing that the tenuous recovery in the U.S. and the European sovereign debt crisis pose risks to Ontario's economic outlook, we believe that the government's forecast for real GDP growth underpinning its fiscal plan is reasonably cautious. In our view, a further credit strength is the
