A windfall from high oil and gas prices could hand Alberta’s government at least a $511 million surplus, with a budget set to boost operational health spending by $515 million.
The 2022-23 budget presented Thursday could be the province’s first balanced budget since 2014-15, but some projected spending increases, including in health care operating costs and K-12 education, do not keep pace with high inflation and population growth pressures.
With oil prices riding a high, the budget estimates bitumen royalties will hit $10.3 billion in 2022-23, up from just $2 billion first budgeted in 2020-21 when global energy prices tanked amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and $1.4 billion at the same time last year. Read more →
