ALBERTA BUDGET 2021 Contents
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ALBERTA BUDGET 2021 Contents The 2021 Alberta Budget: What You Need to Know ......................................................1 Advanced Education .....................................................................................................................4 Agriculture and Forestry .............................................................................................................5 Children’s Services .......................................................................................................................6 Community and Social Services .............................................................................................7 Culture, Multiculturalism and Status Of Women .............................................................8 Education ..........................................................................................................................................9 Energy ............................................................................................................................................... 10 Environment and Parks ..............................................................................................................11 Health and Mental Health ........................................................................................................ 12 Indigenous Relations ................................................................................................................. 14 Infrastructure ................................................................................................................................. 15 Jobs, Economy and Innovation .............................................................................................. 16 Justice and Solicitor General .................................................................................................. 17 Labour and Immigration ........................................................................................................... 18 Municipal Affairs .......................................................................................................................... 19 Seniors and Housing .................................................................................................................. 20 Service Alberta ............................................................................................................................. 21 Transportation ............................................................................................................................... 22 Treasury Board and Finance .................................................................................................. 23 About Enterprise Canada ......................................................................................................... 24 THE 2021 ALBERTA BUDGET: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW THE BUDGET BY THE NUMBERS: $43.7 billion $61.9 billion $18.2 billion Total revenue Total spending Deficit $115.8 billion 24.5 per cent Total Debt 2021/22 Debt to GDP $48.3 billion $58.7 billion $800 million Operating Expenditure Capital Expenditure Contingency for disaster assistance $1.3 billion $500 million Contingency for COVID-19 Contingency for Recovery Plan $11.7 billion $1.8 billion Personal Tax Revenue Corporate Tax Revenue WTI at $46, WCS at $40.7, Light-heavy differential at $14.60 Projected Oil Prices 1 THE MORE THINGS CHANGE… While Alberta’s official legislative history will record this as the third budget brought forward by Jason Kenney’s United Conservative Party Government, such a description does not do justice to the sea change that has occurred across Alberta. As a result of this transformation, the 2021 budget stands alone, and quite apart, from the government’s previous fiscal plan. As it has elsewhere in Canada and around the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has taken an enormous toll on both the physical and economic health of Albertans. At the time of the budget, 132,033 Albertans have tested positive COVID-19, and there have been 1,866 fatalities. In addition, in much of the province significant economic restrictions designed to contain the virus remain in place. While Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw said that restrictions on some Alberta businesses could be lifted as early as next week, at the time of Toews’ speech, restrictions remained in place for in sectors such as retail stores, banquet and community halls, conference centres, hotels and indoor fitness. These challenges have been further exacerbated by continued outside opposition to further development of Alberta’s oil and gas sector: most notably the decision by the new Biden administration in the U.S. to cancel further construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. As the 2021 Budget makes plain, these forces have combined to take a toll on Alberta’s economy. However, GDP is expected to expand to 4.8 per cent, and employment rests well below pre-pandemic levels. Not surprisingly, this combination of forces has taken their toll on the Kenney Government’s public standing which, by some pollster’s measurements, has deteriorated more than any other government in Canada. With the virus still among us, the economy reeling, and the public getting restless, the 2021 budget puts the Kenney government at a crossroads that has required them to walk back some previous commitments such as the promise to balance the budget before the 2023 election: a reality laid bare by the government’s projected $18.2 billion deficit. At the time of the 2020 budget, nobody in Alberta expected a budget that would be headlined by issues like protecting our health care system, supporting struggling small-and-medium businesses, and recovering commodity prices. The 2021 budget is, very much, a budget for these times. …THE MORE THEY STAY THE SAME Perhaps, then, what is most surprising about the budget is the extent in which it recommits to the principles that have defined much of the Kenney government’s agenda from the moment it took office. This commitment is most evidently seen in Toews’ continued refusal to impose higher taxes or introduce new revenue measures such as a sales tax despite increased advocacy from conservative-friendly organizations such as the Business Council of Alberta to embrace such a move. In addition, the government continues to stake out a clear commitment to follow through on key election commitments made by Kenney, including a package of democratic reforms that include recall and citizen initiative legislation. 2 THE BUDGET IN BRIEF: PROTECTING LIVES AND LIVELIHOODS As has been signalled by the Premier himself, the budget is focussed on protecting the lives and livelihoods of Albertans. Budget 2021 follows up on several key commitments the United Conservatives made to Albertans with the promise of economic recovery: MAINTAINING OR INCREASING THE COMMITMENT TO SUPPORTING OIL HEALTH CARE BUDGET AND GAS SECTOR We presented our first budget in October Oil and gas are still among the most 2019, it fulfilled our platform commitment productive and highest-paid industries in to maintain the health care budget. We the nation. The sector’s commitment to continued to honour that commitment in continuous improvement has created today’s Budget 2020, and when the global pandemic high-tech, highly productive, and efficient was declared, we immediately added a half- industry. billion dollars to health care. A robust economy and real wealth creation is built on the effort, investment, and ambition of AHS REVIEW – COMMITMENT TO citizens and businesses – and government’s EFFICIENCIES IN OUR HEALTH CARE role is to provide a business environment that SYSTEM encourages the entrepreneurial spirit of its people. We will continue with the implementation of the AHS review to ensure our system is REDUCE DEBT patient-centred and efficient, with costs more on par with those in other provinces. We will keep our debt manageable by keeping Alberta’s net debt to GDP ratio below REDUCE RED TAPE 30 per cent. …laser focus on regulatory modernization Once we can see our way clear of the and red-tape reduction – efforts that earned pandemic, we will present a clear path and Alberta an A grade from the Canadian timeline for balancing the budget. Federation of Independent Business this year, thanks to the good work of our Minister of Red NO NEW TAXES Tape Reduction. To those who would suggest we should FAIR DEAL FOR ALBERTA simply raise taxes, I say no. Raising taxes at the best of times impedes economic growth, …the biggest obstacle to recovery may be and with the challenges we face today, it our own national government, which has would undermine the economic recovery that layered on regulatory requirements, created is so essential. investment uncertainty, chased away the investment that maintains family-supporting jobs, and is now increasing the costs for our most vital national economic drivers. 3 Demetrios Nicolaides Minister of Advanced Education Jesse Robertson ADVANCED EDUCATION Chief of Staff Curtis Clarke As this ministry consults on the future of post-secondary education in Deputy Minister Alberta, Budget 2021 reflects on Alberta’s difficult fiscal situation. The ministry reports operating expenses at $5.055 billion: a $72 million decrease from the previous budget The ministry’s 10-year strategy, Alberta 2030: Building Skills for Jobs, will start this fiscal year. The goal of the strategy is to align Alberta’s workforce for current and future labour market needs. Budget 2021 also introduces a controversial