Alberta spent on emergencies but made more resource revenue; sees $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.

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.

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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.”

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The Official Opposition says Alberta’s health and education systems have worsened under the UCP.

“Albertans … won’t see the tax cut they were promised during the election,” said Samir Kayande, the NDP’s finance critic.

“While Minister Horner was boasting about a surplus today, there were no doctors available in Grande Cache. 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,” Kayande said.

— with files from Global News