June 3, 2022 – On June 1, Standard and Poor’s (S&P) released a credit rating action for Norfolk County, along with numerous Canadian Municipalities, because of changes to their assessment of the municipal institutional framework in Canada.
Norfolk County’s rating has been revised upward from AA-/Stable to AA/Stable.
This upgrade not only reflects the ability of Canadian municipalities to maintain financial resiliency over time – including in periods of significant stress, but also reflects the hard work by Council and staff over the last term to mitigate the financial impact of the pandemic. While these efforts moved the County toward long-term financial sustainability, much diligence and discipline are still required in the years to come to maintain and improve the County’s financial position.
The institutional framework for Canadian municipalities was revised to extremely predicable and supportive from very predictable and well-balanced. S&P stated in their action that it raised its ratings on 21 and affirmed its ratings on 13 Canadian municipalities, of which Norfolk County was one of those municipalities with rising ratings.
This announcement comes in advance of the release of the County’s 2022 annual surveillance credit rating review. On May 31, Norfolk County staff participated in a preliminary meeting with S&P staff for the annual surveillance review.
Staff anticipate further information on this review to be available in the middle of June and results will be communicated at that time.
