Alberta budget 2026 comes with spending hikes but $9.4B deficit

Premier Danielle Smith’s UCP government has introduced a new Alberta budget that promises more money for health and education but also an eye-popping deficit of $9.4 billion.

Finance Minister Nate Horner says coping with a rising population and lower-than-expected oil prices is putting the squeeze on Alberta’s bottom line.

Horner says the prudent course is to weather the economic storm and work to build the province.

The budget is the second consecutive multibillion-dollar deficit from Smith’s United Conservatives, and they’re forecasting more deficits through to 2029.

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The taxpayer-supported debt is also going up and is expected to surpass $100 billion about a year from now.

While income taxes aren’t increasing to make up the shortfall, there are several other ways Albertans will be paying more through fees and changes to the education property tax.

Consumers will also pay more on a number of items, from dangerous driving tickets to registry fees and car rentals.

There will also fewer provincial supports for the province’s growing motion picture industry, as the government has reduced the Film and Television Tax Credit by $35 million to $60 million.

It comes after last year’s budget 2025 committed $235 million over the ensuing three years to the FTTC program designed to attract large-scale productions.

More to come…

— With a file from Karen Bartko, Global News