Ontario Cut by S&P as Big Spending Makes It Global Laggard

Ontario, Canada’s largest province, had its credit rating cut by Standard & Poor’s, which said the government’s plan for one of the largest infrastructure outlays in Canadian history will weaken the balance sheet for years to come.

S&P lowered Ontario’s rating one level to A+ from AA-, according to a statement Monday. The rating firm said even if the Liberals’ manage to close their operating deficit by 2018 as promised, their 10-year plan to spend C$130 billion ($108 billion) on transit, hospitals and other public infrastructure means its debt load will accumulate. S&P expects debt to rise to a “very high” 267 percent of revenue in the next two years.