Alberta Projects Wider Budget Deficit as Oil Prices Decline

Alberta is projecting a wider deficit for the current fiscal year as oil prices fall, denting a key source of revenue for Canada’s top energy-producing province.

The deficit will widen to C$6.5 billion ($4.7 billion) in the fiscal year ending in March, C$1.3 billion bigger than previously forecast, the provincial government said Thursday. Driving the wider shortfall is a C$1.4 billion drop in non-renewable resource revenue compared with original projections.