EDMONTON – The Alberta government will bring down its 2014-15 budget on March 6.
Finance Minister Doug Horner has said he expects a better bottom line this year due to a lower Canadian dollar.
A falling loonie hikes the value of Alberta’s energy exports, which are valued in U.S. dollars.
“This year’s Budget will continue the plan we set out last year ensuring government manages our resources wisely, while meeting Alberta’s enormous population growth head-on. The Budget will also show progress made in building Alberta’s savings account – the first savings plan in two decades,” Horner said in an emailed statement.
READ MORE: Breaking down the 2013 Alberta budget
Horner has also promised that the budget will stay tight despite a strong provincial economy.
“Last fall, I travelled across the province and heard from hundreds of Albertans about their views on what the priorities for Alberta’s budget should be. Many more Albertans submitted their opinions to us online and directly to my office. We listened. Budget 2014 will represent the views we heard about protecting core services and building the infrastructure our communities need in the country’s fastest growing province.”
Premier Alison Redford’s government has forecast a deficit in this year’s operating budget and is on track to run up $17 billion in capital debt by 2016.
Redford and Horner have said the spending is necessary to keep up with a rapidly growing population now at four million.
Comments