Alberta faces a ‘serious financial circumstance’ – Premier Prentice

Alberta Premier Jim Prentice is upping the rhetoric on the economic crisis facing the province.

“The circumstances that we’re in are the most serious financial circumstance we have seen in this province in 25 years, if not fifty, and certainly they will affect every Albertan,” said Prentice during a news conference in Calgary on Friday.

Falling world oil prices have not cut government resource revenues in half. And the province is facing a total deficit of nearly $12 billion over the next three years.

For the province, it likely means we can expect big spending cuts in the upcoming spring budget.

The planned cancer centre for Calgary is now on hold, and the province has announced it won’t be funding full-day kindergarten.

Other cutbacks are being contemplated by a special senior government budget committee which is meeting to crunch the numbers.

No early election

Premier Prentice acknowledges there’s a political dimension to falling oil prices and looming cuts, but he insists he’s not thinking about holding a spring election ahead of schedule.

But Mount Royal University political analyst Duane Bratt says that doesn’t mean it won’t happen.

“He could come out some time next week and say, you know I have been telling you about this dire fiscal situation, and this is why we need an election – so he is setting the stage for that,” said Bratt.

Under current legislation, the Alberta election would be held in the spring of next year.