ALBERTA GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES BUDGET 2020: MORE DEBT AND LESS SPENDING

ALBERTA GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES BUDGET 2020: MORE DEBT AND LESS SPENDING

February 27, 2020 Written by JT Tyler (@jttyleryyz)

Edmonton, Alberta – Jason Kenney’s government unveiled the provincial budget on Thursday. In the budget, the Alberta government announced plans to reduce operating expenses over the next three years by approximately $1.2 billion, or 2.5 percent, while at the same time increasing user fees in various categories.

Alberta Finance Minister Travis Toews said Budget 2020 is consistent with the course charted by the United Conservative Party’s first budget that was tabled last fall. The themes throughout the budget remain the same including reducing spending, cutting corporate tax rates, and significantly reducing red tape and government waste.

Despite the uncertainty facing the Alberta resource sector and the province’s economy as a whole, the Finance Minister said he was “optimistic” about the Alberta economy while meeting with reporters just prior to the unveiling of the budget.

The $56.8 billion budget also highlights some unsurprising figures related to debt and deficits.  The province forecasts a deficit of $6.8 billion, with a total debt of $76.9 billion by the end of 2020-21 fiscal year. Moreover, the deficit is predicted to drop to $2.7 billion in 2021-22, while flipping to a surplus of $700 million in 2022-23.

The Finance Minister said, “While there’s much work to do on the jobs front, there are reasons for optimism.” To that end, the province is optimistic their investments will result in the creation of 55,00 jobs by 2022. The government announced a significant $75 million dollar investment paced over the next three years through what is being called an “Investment and Growth Strategy.” The province has yet to detail this initiative but plans to do so in the coming months.

Alberta Opposition leader, Rachel Notley, was taking a much different view on the Alberta budget and economy as a whole. The NDP leader said the provincial government was relying on inaccurate or overly optimistic figures, including the projected price of a barrel of West Texas oil (target used in Alberta budgets).

Notley said that the government is using “magical thinking” when it comes to the estimates and projections in the budget, however, it failed to elaborate on what exactly an NDP government would table in the alternative.

More information on the provincial budget can be found online www.alberta.ca