{"id":467819,"date":"2026-02-11T10:25:18","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T10:25:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/467819\/"},"modified":"2026-02-11T10:25:18","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T10:25:18","slug":"alberta-premier-warns-significant-deficits-to-come-rules-out-tax-hikes-or-big-cuts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/467819\/","title":{"rendered":"Alberta premier warns \u2018significant\u2019 deficits to come, rules out tax hikes or big cuts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says \u201csignificant\u201d deficits are in store for the province as it tries to grapple with low oil prices.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The government\u2019s new budget is set to be unveiled later this month, and Smith says it\u2019s going to be a \u201ctough\u201d one.<\/p>\n

The premier told RED FM Calgary this week that she has ruled out tax hikes and \u201cdeep\u201d service cuts to avoid hurting Albertans, but said it means the province will need to run multiple deficits.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re still going to prioritize the things that matter to people (like) health care, education, and supports for the most vulnerable, as well as building infrastructure, but we can\u2019t do it all\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the short term, there is going to be some significant deficits as we try to manage the lower royalty prices.\u201d<\/p>\n

Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Click<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t2:00
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFalling oil prices and their impact on Alberta\u00a0\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

As of November, the province was forecasting a $6.4-billion deficit for the current budget year based on a reduced average price of West Texas Intermediate, the North American benchmark oil, at US$61.50 a barrel.<\/p>\n

The forecasted average is down from the original US$68 per barrel the province\u2019s current budget is pegged at, with every lost dollar equal to a $750-million dip in Alberta\u2019s treasury.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"Get<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tGet daily National news<\/p>\n

Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.<\/p>\n

November\u2019s update pinned the low oil prices to \u201cconcerns about global oil demand and easing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since then Smith has also said that boosted oil production in Venezuela following the U.S. capture of the South American country\u2019s former president Nicolas Maduro could harm Alberta\u2019s industry.<\/p>\n

Alberta\u2019s current budget also forecasted deficits of more than $2 billion for the next two years, but Smith didn\u2019t specify to RED FM if those are now expected to be higher.<\/p>\n

Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n

Finance Minister Nate Horner said in a statement Tuesday that he couldn\u2019t provide specifics on the budget before it\u2019s tabled, but he said it\u2019s the government\u2019s job to make hard decisions.<\/p>\n

\u201cDiscipline matters because once it\u2019s gone, services, jobs and stability are put at risk,\u201d Horner said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen revenue drops, spending and deficits have to adjust \u2014 there\u2019s no way around it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Click<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1:58
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAlberta projects $6.5B deficit in economic update\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Smith did say she thought Albertans were \u201ca lot more secure\u201d now, citing weekly earnings in her province compared with others and how Alberta\u2019s unemployment rate had shrunk over the past year to 6.4 per cent from 6.8 per cent.<\/p>\n

But she said for the foreseeable future Alberta will still be on the roller-coaster of natural resource revenues that sees the province swing far into the green and crash back down into the red as oil prices jump up and down.<\/p>\n

Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a problem that got created over decades. It\u2019s a problem I inherited,\u201d Smith told RED FM.<\/p>\n

She said the government needs to stick to her plan of growing the province\u2019s rainy day Heritage Savings Trust Fund to $250 billion so that it starts generating its own revenue to make up for oil crashes.<\/p>\n

\n\t\tRelated News\n\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\/<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tAlberta\u2019s economy remains in the red with tweaked $6.4B deficit\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\/<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tOil prices tumble to a 5 month low on new Trump tariff threats\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

Opposition NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi said the government wasn\u2019t doing itself any favours, pointing to a list of spending controversies that included nearly $250 million paid out to coal companies last year to settle court cases, and another $70 million spent on imported children\u2019s pain medication that largely went unused.<\/p>\n

\u201cPremier Smith and the UCP claim they are good at managing the economy, but their financial record paints a completely different picture,\u201d Nenshi said in a Tuesday statement.<\/p>\n

He also questioned the government\u2019s commitment to spending on education and health care, since the province has seen emergency rooms in Edmonton and Calgary be bombarded with patients, while overcrowded classrooms were a common complaint behind last year\u2019s provincewide teachers strike.<\/p>\n

Smith also called for federal tax reform, telling RED FM she thought Ottawa \u201covertaxes\u201d the province.<\/p>\n

She also said the federal equalization program needs reworking so Alberta has more money to look after its own priorities.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlbertans are scratching their heads saying, \u2018Hmm, why are we running deficits when we\u2019re sending so much money to Ottawa so that they can give it to other provinces?’\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s another conversation we need to have with the federal government to get better balance.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Click<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1:40
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\u2018It\u2019s bad\u2019: Alberta energy sector nervous for slumping oil prices\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t&copy 2026 The Canadian Press\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says \u201csignificant\u201d deficits are in store for the province as it tries to grapple…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":467820,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[59856,190745,49,48,46,44,9891,714],"class_list":["post-467819","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-alberta-budget","tag-alberta-economy","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-economy","tag-news","tag-oil-prices","tag-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/467819","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=467819"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/467819\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/467820"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=467819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=467819"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=467819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}