US EditionAlberta government to earmark $10.8B for education ahead of deficit budget
The Alberta government boosts education funding by 7% to $10.8 billion despite projecting a $9.4 billion deficit driven by low oil prices and population growth, officials said.
- On Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026, the United Conservative government tables the 2026-27 provincial budget, with analysts expecting a deficit just shy of $10 billion and Premier Danielle Smith warning of significant deficits.
- With Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026, analysts say rising expenses from $60 billion to $75 billion and population growth pressure revenues, while WTI near US$61.50 depresses royalties.
- The budget preserves $10.8 billion for education with a seven per cent increase, $7.7 billion for doctors' pay and recruitment, and officials note a five per cent PST could yield about $6 billion.
- Continued deficits mean shortfalls will increase provincial debt and borrowing costs while pressuring health, education and infrastructure funding ahead of political tests later this year.
- Looking ahead, Smith plans to bulk up the Heritage Fund, rule out tax hikes and deep service cuts, and double natural resource production via the proposed pipeline to B.C. coast, blaming former prime minister Justin Trudeau's immigration policies for rising costs.
65 Articles
65 Articles
HILL: Smith government continues on resource revenue rollercoaster with $9.4 billion budget deficit
According to the Smith government’s 2026 budget released Thursday, amid weak oil prices, the government will run a staggering $9.4-billion budget deficit this fiscal year following the $4.1-billion deficit forecasted for 2025-26. And the government projects deficits until 2028-29 — despite its “fiscal framework” prohibiting deficits for more than three fiscal years in a row.
Alberta Budgets for Three Years of Deficit on Low Oil Prices
Alberta will end fiscal 2025/26 with a deficit and will run a deficit for the next three fiscal years as well, the province’s finance minister has said. The deficit for fiscal 2025/26 is calculated at C$4.1 billion ($3 billion), set to swell to C$9.4 billion ($6.9 billion) next fiscal year and then moderate to C$7.6 billion ($5.56 billion) in fiscal 2027/28 and further to C$6.9 billion ($5.05 billion) for fiscal 2028/29, minister Nate Horner sai…
Alberta Tables Budget With $9.4 Billion Deficit, Citing Rising Population
Alberta’s new budget includes a $9.4 billion deficit, which the finance minister is blaming on the costs of a rising population coupled with low oil prices. “This year will require tough choices. Some of them won’t be popular. But all of them will be necessary to face the challenges ahead,” Finance Minister Nate Horner told the legislative assembly in Edmonton on Feb. 26 as he tabled the 2026-2027 budget. Horner added that “we’re not making mass…
UCP to spend big on addiction recovery, fighting crime, new DNA testing labs
Source: CPACAuthor: Clayton DeMaineThe United Conservative Party government has announced a massive injection of funds in the 2026 Alberta budget for public safety and mandatory addiction recovery programs. On the public safety front, this includes investing in new DNA testing facilities and boosting policing resources.The 2026 Alberta budget earmarks several years of multibillion-dollar deficit spending, including over $6 billion for public saf…
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