Finance Minister Joe Ceci tabled the 2017 Alberta Budget Thursday afternoon, which comes with a $10.3-billion deficit.
So what’s in it for Edmonton and the surrounding areas? Here’s a snapshot.
New schools
The 2017 budget includes $500 million in funding for 24 new and modernized schools across the province, five in Calgary and four in Edmonton. There are also funds for design work on a fifth school in Edmonton.
READ MORE: Alberta budget expected to include funding for 10 new schools
The government said full details will be released in the coming weeks but added these projects are on top of the 200 already underway in Alberta.
WATCH: Alberta Minister of Finance, Joe Ceci, announces funding for education as part of budget 2017.
New Edmonton hospital
The 2017 budget allocates $400 million over four years towards planning and implementation of a new hospital in Edmonton, the first in a generation.
A site for the new hospital has not been set.
Upgrades to Misericordia Hospital
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Upwards of $65 million has been earmarked over the next four years for modernization and emergency room renovations at the Misericordia Community Hospital.
READ MORE: Covenant Health making sure Misericordia Hospital upgrades don’t get lost in shuffle
Royal Alexandra Hospital
$155 million in funding over the next four years for the Royal Alexandra Hospital will go towards constructing a new building for a Child and Adolescent Mental Health facility.
That’s a far cry from the $1 billion the Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundation said it needs for phase one of its proposed development, which would see construction of a new 800-bed hospital tower.
READ MORE: ‘Voice of Alex’ campaign uses puppet to push for funding for Royal Alexandra Hospital redevelopment
The Royal Alexandra Hospital was designed in the 1950s and built in the early 1960s. While it has seen upgrades over the years, the RAHF said the hospital does not meet today’s standards of care.
Long-term care beds
The Norwood Capital Care facility in north Edmonton will receive $364 million over the next four years for new and renovated space for 350 long-term care beds.
University of Alberta Dentistry Pharmacy renewal
The budget has allocated $149 million over four years to restore the University of Alberta’s Dentistry Pharmacy building, which has been deemed a provincial heritage site.
Widening Fort Saskatchewan bridge
While a dollar figure has not been announced, the government will twin the Highway 15 bridge near Fort Saskatchewan.
MSI Funding
This year, municipalities will receive just over $1.2 billion under the Municipal Sustainability Initiative with $260 million going to Edmonton.
50 Street rail crossing
The government will eliminate the at-grade rail crossing at 50 Street in Edmonton. No dollar figure for the project was released.
Stanley A. Milner Library
The Stanley A. Milner Library will receive $2 million over the next four years.
Reynolds-Alberta Museum in Wetaskiwin
The Reynolds-Alberta Museum in Wetaskiwin will receive $40 million over the next four years. Alberta Culture and Tourism said the money will go to build a new facility for the museum’s collectables. It will also help the museum acquire new artifacts and protect and preserve the hundreds of artifacts already at the museum.
Watch below: Sarah Hoffman: ‘I get that the opposition wants us to cut’
Post-secondary tuition freeze
For the third year in a row, the government said it will freeze tuition for post-secondary students across Alberta.
Affordable housing
On Wednesday, the province announced it will spend $5.6 million to plan for 14 affordable housing projects throughout the province. Budget 2017 stated Edmonton’s Londonderry neighbourhood will receive 220 affordable, mixed-income units.
READ MORE: Alberta government announces more than $5.6M in funding for affordable housing planning
In Leduc, 64 units of community housing will be built. In Sherwood Park, 144 seniors lodge units will be built.
Alberta’s Provincial Operations Centre
The hub for emergency management during the Fort McMurray wildfire last May, the Provincial Operations Centre in Edmonton will receive $125 million for modernization. The centre is responsible for coordinating the initial response and maintaining support for responses to natural and human-caused disaster.
ALERT
Budget 2017 outlines $19.1 million for the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team.
Unfunded Edmonton projects
The southwest leg of Anthony Henday Drive will not receive funding in Budget 2017. There have been previous calls to widen the stretch of roadway in Edmonton’s booming southwest.
READ MORE: ‘It’s getting close to full’: Southwest leg of Anthony Henday Drive reaching capacity
The Winspear Centre was looking for $13 million to help fund a $53-million project for training, education and programming spaces. That money did not materialize.
Boyle Street Community Services wanted funding for redevelopment and a community wellness centre, which was not included in Ceci’s budget.
What’s in it for Red Deer?
For nearly three years, Red Deer’s traffic court – which serviced all of central Alberta – has been operating out of a hotel. To alleviate those pressures, the government said it will begin construction on a new courthouse this year. No dollar figure for the project was released.
READ MORE: Red Deer calls on province for decision on new courthouse
One of the biggest misses for Red Deer was funding for a new hospital. Alberta Health Services has said it needs 96 more impatient beds, 18 more beds in the emergency department and three more operating rooms.
What’s in it for Fort McMurray?
After years of on-again, off-again funding promises, the Willow Square long-term care facility in Fort McMurray is back on track and will receive $43 million over the next three years.
To see what’s in the budget for Calgary and Lethbridge, click here.
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