Alberta announces final numbers for fiscal year, including $4.3B surplus

Alberta has announced its final numbers for the fiscal year that ended in March, and the bottom line is a $4.3-billion surplus.

Finance Minister Nate Horner says Alberta took in almost $75 billion in the 2023-24 fiscal year, powered by more than $19 billion from non-renewable resources and a higher tax take due to more people moving to the province.

“Intangible benefits, the point of the fiscal framework is that in the good and decent years — we don’t waste it,” said Horner.

Alberta spent more than $70 billion, more than expected, as the province worked to cover off natural disasters and revamp the core structure of its health system.

The province also grew the size of its long-term savings piggybank, the Heritage Savings Trust Fund, to almost $23 billion.

Debt servicing costs were $3 billion.

Horner says the province is setting a prudent course that has led to credit-rating upgrades from multiple firms.

“Our government has kept its promise to balance our budget and provide Albertans the services and supports they need,” said Horner in a statement Thursday.

“We will keep building opportunity so that our children and grandchildren can continue to benefit, grow and share in the province’s prosperity.”

Despite high oil prices and tax revenue contributing to the surplus, the minister confirmed Albertans won’t see fuel tax relief July first.

The tax was suspended briefly for Albertans as part of affordability measures but was re-implemented this spring. The province had previously said the fuel tax relief would come back when oil prices go up.

As well, an election-promised income tax cut for Albertans won’t be coming into effect.

Minister Horner says while he knows Albertans are dealing with an increasing cost of living, he adds this fiscal update provides stability for the future instead.

“Coming back to our job an role as government is to ensure that we can keep the advantages that we have going forward. It’s easy for some governments to turn to taxes and raise taxes to expand services and spending, we’re committed to not doing that.”

In response, Alberta’s opposition NDP told CityNews in a statement the surplus should be used to fund public services and affordability measures.

“There are 29 partially closed hospitals across Alberta today. A rural community health centre is slated to close permanently at the end of this week. Our schools and post-secondaries are overcrowded and underfunded. Albertans are squeezed between rising prices and the lowest wage growth in Canada,” said the NDP’s finance critic in a statement.

-With files from Darcy Ropchan, CityNews