The government is projecting modest budget surpluses in each of the next three years, starting with an approximate $500-million surplus in Budget 2022.
At the onset of the pandemic and its fiscal challenges, the government developed a set of fiscal anchors to guide decision-making to ensure Albertans get value for their money and prevent debt servicing costs from threatening the province’s future.
The government committed to carefully bringing the per capita cost of programs and services in line with other provinces. Alberta is making progress on this goal. Budget 2022 estimates that Alberta will fall within the projected per capita spending range of the three-province (British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec) average in the coming fiscal year.
While the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in large-scale, extraordinary spending by all provincial governments, Alberta has successfully kept a steady hand when it comes to spending on its regular non-pandemic-related programs and services.
In 2018-19, Alberta’s operating expense was $48.4 billion. Excluding spending on the pandemic response, the new Canada-Alberta Early Learning and Child Care Agreement and crude by rail, that number has increased by only 0.4 per cent each year over the past three years. For comparison, prior to 2019, the government was on a trajectory to increase operational spending by about four per cent every year. The government kept operating expenses relatively flat over the past several years in response to the MacKinnon Panel report, which concluded that although Alberta spends more on its programs and services, outcomes were no better than in other provinces. In other words, Albertans were not getting fair value for their tax dollars.
The government also committed to keep Alberta’s net debt below 30 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP). Alberta has one of the lowest net debt-to-GDP ratios in the nation, and the government’s responsible fiscal management will ensure the province keeps its position as a leader in Canada. Alberta’s projections for the net debt-to-GDP ratio have continually improved over the course of the current fiscal year, proving the government is serious about its fiscal commitments. In Budget 2021, net debt-to-GDP ratio was estimated to be 24.5 per cent for 2021-22. That number is now forecast to be 18.3 per cent. Holding to this fiscal anchor is helping the government focus on preserving our net financial position, minimizing debt accumulation and maximizing savings.
Quick facts
Budget 2022 supports the priorities of Albertans with operating expense funding of:
- $22 billion to $23.2 billion annually for health services
- $8.4 billion to $8.5 billion annually for kindergarten to Grade 12 (K-12) education
- $5.4 billion to $5.6 billion annually for post-secondary education
- $7.8 billion to $8 billion annually for social services
- $2.6 billion by 2024-25 for the new Canada-Alberta Early Learning and Child Care Agreement (including $134 million provided in 2021-22)
- $81 million in additional funding over the next three years for the Alberta Film and Television Tax Credit
- $40 million over the next four years for the Clean Hydrogen Centre of Excellence
- $9 million in 2022-23 to address the land titles backlog
Budget 2022 moves Alberta forward towards personal and economic prosperity by building capacity in our health-care system, developing the talents and skills of our workforce and providing opportunities for all Albertans to succeed and thrive.
Mixed Reactions to the Budget
The Mayor of Edmonton reacted with a blog post to Medium.
His comment on Twitter reads: While I am incredibly frustrated to see that #YEG was not fairly represented in today’s budget, I will not give up. Edmonton deserves a fair deal. When Edmonton succeeds, so does Alberta – this government knows that. This is profoundly disappointing.
Janis Irwin said: “keep slapping yourself on the back for a balanced budget,
You did so on the backs of Albertans. Who suffers most? Our unhoused neighbours. Our friends and family members with disabilities. Indigenous peoples. Students. This is absolutely nothing to be proud of“.
