Alberta paid off its debt and became debt-free.
Claimed by: Commonly stated by Alberta independence advocates
Needs context: Accurate as written, but a key piece of context changes how it reads. How we rate.
Summary
Alberta did eliminate its accumulated provincial debt, and in 2004 Premier Ralph Klein declared it the only debt-free province. But the timing was softer than the slogan suggests: the government set aside funds to retire the remaining debt as it matured rather than wiping it out instantly, and the announcement was timed ahead of an election. The bigger caveat is that this was a one-time historical achievement. Alberta returned to significant debt in later years, so describing the province as debt-free today would be wrong.
Evidence
In July 2004 Premier Klein announced Alberta was debt-free, calling it the only debt-free province; funds were placed in a debt retirement account to pay remaining debt as it came due.
Coverage notes the $3.7 billion debt was paid off ahead of schedule in 2004, but Alberta later returned to record debt levels.