Alberta fiscal update shows provincial deficit increases another $200 million
Posted Feb 24, 2016 1:40 pm.
Last Updated Feb 24, 2016 5:38 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
EDMONTON – Alberta’s budget deficit is expected to rise to $6.3 billion this year as the effects of collapsing oil prices burrow deeper into the province’s contracting economy.
Finance Minister Joe Ceci says hard times are adding another $197 million in red ink this fiscal year, which ends March 31.
He says the bad news is offset somewhat by the low Canadian dollar, which helps an exporter such as Alberta.
“It’s due entirely to the collapse of oil prices and what that does to our economy as a result. We have lower GDP (and) I think if you look at the Q3 update, you’ll see that the forecast for 2015/16 has been downgraded again,” Ceci said.
Ceci says the province will also benefit from a one-time payment of $251 million from a federal government program that assists provinces dealing with sudden and deep drops in revenue.
Oil and gas investment is expected to fall by 20 per cent in 2016.
Ceci says Alberta is still planning to save money where it can and keep front-line jobs intact, but is taking on debt to build roads, schools, and hospitals.
Wildrose critic Prasad Panda said Ceci needs a better long-term game-plan.
“It’s a lot of money when you talk about ten billion dollars,” Panda said. “Their plan is not working. Nobody is blaming them for the oil price, but how they responded to the situation is hurting Alberta’s economy.”
Shadow minister of finance for the Wildrose, Derek Fildebrandt echoed those comments.
“This is particularly alarming right now. We have run deficits for eight years in a row. We’re now on track to run a ninth. Eventually we have to get back on a bath to balanced budgets,” he told 660 NEWS.
“The NDP are again delaying the budget the budget for reasons that are unclear, we’re not sure if it’s due to holding back bad news with a by-election in Calgary-Greenway coming. Not sure if it’s just because they can’t get it ready. We know they delayed the last budget so that they wouldn’t have it come out close to a federal election.”
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation also weighed in, saying the government has only itself to blame.
“The fact is that it is possible to balance the budget this year, next year, balancing the budget is possible,” Alberta director Paige MacPherson said. “These are policy decisions that the Alberta government is making. So, the government can’t continue to keep write this off all because of the prices of oil, all saying that it’s impossible to balance the budget.”
Watch the full announcement from Ceci, here:
For more details on the government numbers, click here.
