Moody's reaffirms Canada's triple-A rating

Bond rating agency Moody's Investor Services is maintaining Canada's debt rating at triple-A, the highest possible.

The firm said Thursday the AAA rating was warranted, citing among other things,the country's "high degree of economic resiliency" and deficit-cutting efforts bythe federal and provincial governments.

It based its assumption about resiliency on Canada's"high per capita income, the large scale of the economy and its diversity, including natural resource industries and a competitive manufacturing sector, as well asa well-developed and well-regulated financial market."

Moody's said there are risks posed byCanada's housing market where many mortgagesare insured by the federal Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporationand Quebec's sovereignty issues, butit rated thoseaslow.

Moody'sconsidered a major downturn of the housing marketunlikely and, even in an extreme case, Ottawa's extra costs would be relatively small.

Similarly, Quebec's sovereignty movement doesn't seem to pose a significant risk since the issue doesn't appear high on the political agenda.

Somemarket watchershave warned that theU.S. is in danger of losing its triple-A rating, especially if the current debt ceiling talks fail to make a significant dent in thedeficit.