Alberta faces $6.4-billion deficit as falling oil prices and trade troubles take toll

Falling oil prices and trade troubles continue to threaten Alberta’s finances, but the province’s deficit is expected to shrink only slightly. It has been pegged at $6.4-billion, down $40-million from a projected $6.5-billion this summer. The latest update still means this year’s budget represents a massive multibillion-dollar swing from an $8.3-billion surplus last year. The biggest factor is a 30 per cent decline in natural resource revenue since last year. While February’s budget projected the price of West Texas Intermediate oil – the North American benchmark – to be US$68 a barrel, the province now predicts it will average US$61.50…