Reactions pour in following Alberta budget announcement

Alberta’s Finance Minister Nate Horner announced the 2025 provincial budget Thursday, and it’s being met with mixed reactions.

First and foremost, Alberta’s official opposition the NDP says “Alberta’s 2025 budget proves that the UCP’s priorities are not Albertans’ priorities.”

The NDP held a press conference of their own Thursday, where they addressed concerns including healthcare, education, and tariff threats.

“Albertans want good jobs and help with the increasing cost of living,” said Court Ellingson, Alberta New Democrat Shadow Minister for Finance. “They also want investments in public health care, public education, and public safety. But with billions in cuts, the UCP’s budget fails to meet the needs of Albertans.

“While this government guts public health care and public education, they’re spending more of Albertans’ money on CorruptCare,” said Ellingson. “Albertans deserve a budget that makes their lives better. This budget doesn’t even attempt to do that.”

Ellingson adds the budget will cause Albertans to pay more in taxes and fees.

“Albertans want strong public services, fiscal responsibility, and ethical, competent government. The UCP budget only delivers cuts, chaos, and corruption.”

Alberta’s Municipalities also said Thursday, that they have mixed feelings regarding the announcement.

They highlight that they are pleased with the plan to increase funding for Grants in Place of Taxes (GIPOT), retaining funding for low-income transit riders, and that Local Government Fiscal Framework (LGFF) Capital funding increased by $96 million which was in accordance with the agreed-upon formula.

However, ABMunis said they “are concerned about the implications of stagnant funding for Family and Community Social Services (FCSS) at $105 million for fiscal year 2025-26.”

Adding, “Considering the rapid population growth Alberta has experienced over the last few years, flat funding is equivalent to a reduction since more people are accessing the same services. A broader conversation about investments in prevention efforts is needed, and local decision-making needs to be considered. Alberta Municipalities is keen to collaborate with the provincial government on this topic.”

Beer Canada says Budget 2025’s proposed changes mean that there will be an improved beer markup structure, which should help smaller craft brewers in the province.

“Today’s announcement is an encouraging first step toward implementing a more balanced and transparent beer fiscal framework for Canadian brewers operating or selling in Alberta,” said CJ Hélie, President of Beer Canada.

Healthcare

The NDP notes the budget would cut public health care but increase spending on private surgeries following the “CorruptCare scandal.”

The NDP says “Health care is seeing a plethora of cuts across eight different areas from primary care to Indigenous health.”

This sentiment was echoed by Friends of Medicare, saying that the budget did not help healthcare.

“Instead, Budget 2025 continues to roll out the government’s expensive and chaotic restructuring of public health care in Alberta, while doubling-down on their failing privatization schemes. Neither of which have delivered on promised improvements to access to health care for Albertans,” read a statement from Chris Gallaway, the executive director of Friends of Medicare.

“Alberta is in a health care workforce crisis. Doctors, nurses, allied health professionals and other skilled health care workers are all telling us they are burnt out, constantly working short-staffed, and looking to leave the health care system altogether. This is an urgent situation, and we need our government to be laser-focused on the frontline workforce with a plan for retention, recruitment and training. We didn’t see that in today’s budget.”

Gallaway added that the budget ignores public infrastructure projects, like the South Edmonton Hospital, and failing to provide a clear plan for the opening of Calgary’s new cancer centre.

“We are already short hundreds of beds in Edmonton, and thousands across the province, yet today’s budget provided no plans or timelines to get facilities built and open,” said Gallaway.

“We are decades behind in needed health care infrastructure. It’s time to get to work. Alberta urgently needs a capacity plan for new beds and a workforce plan to ensure we can keep our health care system staffed and our facilities open. Today’s budget offers neither.”

Education

The NDP also claims that the budget is cutting education funding, however, the 2025 Budget is seeing an increase of 4.5 per cent in educational funding.

Despite the increase, CUPE union president Rory Gill says the increase isn’t enough.

“The government has increased education funding, but it’s not enough to cover enrollment and inflation. We would need an increase of 6.8 per cent, what we got was 4.5 per cent. So Alberta’s education will continue to deteriorate. For four years, Alberta has had the lowest education spending in Canada,” explained Gill.

He adds, “This means the strikes are likely to continue and spread to more school districts. The government does not seem to care that education support workers are making poverty wages, and have gone a decade without a proper increase.”

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He said the government’s pledge to hire 4,000 support workers in Thursday’s budget is meaningless.

“They can hire a million people if they want, but unless the wages are there, no one is going to take these jobs,” he said.

Adding, “Funding to hire more teachers and support staff, and some support for children with special needs is welcome. However, it doesn’t address the low wages in the sector that are making it difficult to hire support staff. Edmonton public alone has a 10 per cent vacancy rate among support staff. The government needs to address low wages in the field.”

Alberta Teachers’ Association President Jason Schilling adds, “Budget 2025 fails to meet the funding required to address the needs we have repeatedly outlined as plaguing Alberta’s public education system. Instead of a desperately needed $11.35 billion investment in the future of Alberta, this government has shortchanged Alberta’s students by $1.15 billion (10 per cent).  

“Alberta’s public schools deserve better. Less than $10 per student per school day would have begun to address the unmet needs in our classrooms. Even more unacceptable is the increased funding of private schools. Public dollars belong in public classrooms.”

Schilling says the ATA will be providing more information on the impact on the public education system when they are able to take a closer look at the budget on Mar. 4.

Tariff threat

Horner says the province has had to change its initial plan for the budget to accommodate for the threat of tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump.

In recent months, Trump has promised different dates and prices of tariffs on Canadian products heading south. Trump has said the U.S. is being taken advantage and also wants Canada to take further action on illegal drugs crossing the border.

Despite this, the NDP says the budget “fails to plan for a variety of economic challenges facing Alberta.”

“The budget fails on jobs,” said Ellingson. “With unemployment rates climbing, it has no plan for creating new jobs or addressing the devastating U.S. tariffs that will wreak havoc on our industries and communities.

“This no-plan budget will send Alberta’s economy into complete chaos, and while Albertans desperately struggle to pay their bills, the UCP is making their lives more expensive with 39 increases to taxes and fees.”