Nunavut earns second-highest score from leading credit rating agency

The Government of Nunavut received the second-highest possible credit score from Moody’s Ratings, a leading New York-based international credit rating agency.

The Aa1 rating was granted because the Canadian government financially backs the territory, according to the company’s report.

“This rating is an important milestone for Nunavut and reflects the strength of our financial position,” said Premier John Main, who is also finance minister, in a news release issued Monday. “It recognizes our government’s responsible financial management and the stability provided by our relationship with the Government of Canada.”

The company’s ratings system ranges from Aaa, the highest, to C, the lowest. 

Although Nunavut’s own-source revenue was only 17 per cent of total revenue in 2025-26, reflecting a narrow tax base due to its small population, the report concluded that there is “a high likelihood that the Government of Canada would provide extraordinary support should Nunavut face acute liquidity stress.”

Federal transfers account for approximately 80 per cent of the territory’s revenue, which bridges the gap between high expenditure needs and limited revenue capacity, the report states.

From 2018 through 2025, the government’s annual credit ratings were provided by Chicago-based DBRS Morningstar.

In 2025, that agency awarded the territory a rating of “AA stable trend,” which was an upgrade from the 2024 rating of “AA (low) stable trend.”

Both those scores fall within the second-highest level of the company’s rating structure.

Prior to that, Nunavut maintained an Aa1 rating from Moody’s Ratings from 2012 through 2017, according to the Moody’s Ratings website.