Political pundits expect a deeper deficit as Alberta prepares to release Q3 budget update
Posted Feb 24, 2016 7:52 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Albertans will hear just how deep in the red the province is when Finance Minister Joe Ceci gives an update on its bank account.
Ceci is releasing the third-quarter budget update Wednesday afternoon. The last time he opened the books in October, he said Alberta was on the way to racking up a $6.1-billion deficit.
However, in recent weeks, he’s declined to confirm if the province will be able to meet that figure.
Paige MacPherson of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation says the NDP hasn’t pulled back spending since last October’s update, a budget that relied on a U.S $50 a barrel price of oil.
With oil sitting well below that the past few months, MacPherson says the NDP aimed too high.
“It’s the same way that families around the kitchen table are doing their budgeting, they estimate conservatively.’Okay, maybe I won’t get the bonus this year, I will budget as though I don’t get the bonus and if I get it, well great, I have a little bit of a surplus,'” she says.
MacPherson notes the province’s deficit will be much higher than what Ceci announces because the update doesn’t include money spent on infrastructure.
Keith Brownsey is political science professor at Mount Royal University. He predicts a deficit in the $5-7 billion range and a harsh reception from Alberta’s Official Opposition, the Wildrose.
But Brownsey says NDP supporters won’t be surprised if the province falls further into deficit, because it’s their policies they voted for.
He says Albertans know there are factors beyond the government’s control that are putting pressure on the economy.
“The Saudis and others have a lot of questions to answer in terms of the price of oil and natural gas these days. The New Democrats are struggling through this, and I don’t know if anyone could do a better job,” says Brownsey.
Ceci is holding a news conference at the Legislature at 1:30 p.m. when he’ll release the Q3 budget update.