Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek said the province’s budget ignores the present realities facing the city, and she’s unsure of the rationale of where the Alberta government decided to spend and where it didn’t.
Alberta Finance Minister Nate Horner delivered the budget to the spring sitting of Alberta’s 31st legislature on Thursday afternoon. He said they’ve developed this budget at a time when things are looking good for Alberta, including a Canada-leading economy.
“It’s a budget that strikes a balance. It addresses the needs of Alberta families, builds and protects safe communities, manages our resources wisely, and supports businesses that are the backbone of our economy,” he said.
“At the same time, it’s built on our fiscal framework, which ensures paying down our debt remains a priority.”
The province estimates total revenue for 2024-2025 to be $73.5 billion, which is $2.1 billion lower than the 2023-2024 forecast of $75.6 billion. By the end of 2026-2027, they expect provincial revenue to be $78.8 billion.
Operating expenses will increase by 3.9 per cent for 2024-2025, then rising 2.2 per cent each year for the two years prior. That falls in line with Premier Danielle Smith saying last week during her televised address that this budget would fall below inflation plus population growth.
Minister Horner said this is a budget that invests in a variety of areas that Alberta families rely on, like healthcare and education.
“It provides a helping hand for those in need, especially in these days when affordability is top-of-mind,” he said.
‘On our own’: Mayor Gondek
The budget highlights outline previously announced funding for 50 new Calgary police officers, along with an additional $55 million for the University of Calgary to add 1,000 STEM spaces.
Also included in the budget is an additional $43 million to help further the Blue Line extension project to help connect Calgary’s international airport to LRT service. Funding for the Green Line project is also included in the budget.
The province has also budgeted $955 million to improve major roadway corridors between Calgary and Edmonton.
Based on the premier’s remarks last week, Mayor Gondek said she wasn’t surprised that this was an austerity budget. While she was pleased to see some investments made in the city, she said Calgary was largely being snubbed.
“In the end, this budget ignores the present realities facing Calgary during an affordability and housing crisis, not to mention at a point in time when investors are actively looking at our city as a leader in tech and innovation, there are no matching investments for our city,” she said.
“We’re essentially on our own.”
Mayor Gondek also noted investments in Arts Commons and Olympic Plaza and overall dedicated funds for wildfire coverage and drug mitigation, along with funding for the completion of the Springbank Offstream Reservoir Project.
The province is also including $2.1 billion to support 98 school projects, including ones in Calgary that are expected to be announced at a news conference on March 1.
Still, the mayor said that there are tens of thousands of people moving to Calgary and they have to deal with that influx of people.
“We have a province that’s encouraging people to move here, but it’s not helping us manage that growth,” she said.
“That’s putting Calgarians at risk.
“If the City of Calgary is going to be the responsible order of government that is caring for people in positions of vulnerability, a lack of direct funding from the province means they’re essentially downloading responsibilities onto Calgarians’ tax bills.”
The mayor noted that in previous years the province mused about allowing cities to tax a greater share of the provincial education tax. She said they’ve confirmed now that the province is taking $96 million more than in 2023.
Worse off, says NDP leader Rachel Notley
The Alberta NDP said that this budget breaks key promises and doesn’t address important needs for Albertans.
“Today’s budget is a litany of broken promises that leaves Albertans worse off than they already are,” said Notley.
The NDP pointed to a lack of a plan to help build hospitals – including the Airdrie Health Centre – and no plan to hire more frontline healthcare staff. She also said that the budget ensures that class sizes remain overcrowded.
The province is putting $475 million into further implementation of the primary healthcare system, including $200 million to improve access to family physicians. Overall, the healthcare budget is up 4.4 per cent from the 2023-2024 forecast.
The Calgary Chamber of Commerce said they were pleased to see the fiscal restraint and the commitment to savings. They also like the continued commitment to Calgary infrastructure, including the Olympic Plaza and Glenbow Museum programs, along with the Event Centre.
“Budget 2024 addresses several of the key asks of the Calgary Chamber’s business community including investments in carbon capture, drought mitigation, arts infrastructure, post-secondary and mental health,” said Deborah Yedlin, President and CEO of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce.
“At the same time, we encourage the government to renew its focus on small businesses, innovation and transformative technology, downtown vibrancy and housing affordability – particularly in light of our growing population.”
