Alberta ends 2022-23 with petro-powered $11.6B surplus

The Alberta government says it ended the 2022-23 budget year with a petro-powered $11.6-billion surplus, up from its third-quarter estimate of $10.4 billion.

It's a positive report, Finance Minister Nate Horner said in a statement Thursday.

"We promised to keep our economy moving forward and Alberta is reaping the benefits," he said.

"Albertans can rest easy knowing that Alberta's prosperity today means more stability tomorrow as we continue to pay down debt and save for the future."

The province said its strong financial situation allowed it to pay down $13.3 billion in debt.

It also saw the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund grow by $2.5 billion to $21.2 billion.

Revenues came in at $76.1 billion, which is $13.5 billion more than expected, due to non-renewable resource and tax revenues.

The government spent $64.5 billion, which was $2.4 billion more than budgeted, on higher-than-expected health-care costs and affordability measures to help Albertans deal with inflation