The Harper government says it has unloaded its remaining multibillion-dollar stake in General Motors.


The federal Finance Department says the government sold nearly 73.4 million shares Monday in an unregistered block trade to Goldman, Sachs & Co.



GM shares closed Monday at US$36.66.


Canada was the only North American government still holding stock acquired as part of the 2009 effort to bail out the then-sputtering automaker.


In a statement, Finance Minister Joe Oliver said the sale means GM has returned to private-sector ownership and taxpayers are no longer exposed to the market.


The sell-off comes as the federal government searches for ways to fulfil its election-year promise to balance its books amid the negative economic impacts of the global oil slump.