Alberta is doing something totally foreign to most countries and provinces: the government is actually paying back its debt.
In a news release, the UCP boasted that due to this year’s record-breaking, oil-fueled surplus, the government is able to make the largest single-year debt repayment in the province’s history and will be paying off $13.4 billion of its over $90 billion owing.
“Alberta’s commitment to fiscal discipline and our unrelenting focus on economic growth has helped bring about an extraordinary turnaround in our financial situation. We promised Albertans we would get our fiscal house in order, and that’s exactly what we’ve done,” said Premier Jason Kenney.
“Now, we’re paying down debt so future generations won’t have to, saving more for a rainy day, and putting more money in Albertans’ pockets.”
The government will also make the highest single-year investment in the Heritage Fund ($2.9 billion in total).
Additionally, $2.4 billion is being allocated to various relief programs, including giving Albertan homeowners, business operators, and farmers $300 through the Electricity Rebate Program, eliminating the provincial fuel costs to keep prices down for at least another month, and giving people natural gas rebates from October 2022 to March 2023 to “shield consumers from natural gas price spikes.”
Regarding jobs, the UCP also reports that the province has added over 68,000 new jobs since the beginning of the year, and most industries now have more workers than before the pandemic. Moreover, the unemployment rate is down to 5.9%, beating out the initial forecast of 6.6%.
The provincial GDP is expected to grow by another 4.9%, despite the slowdown in the broader Canadian economy, and the province’s revenue is now expected to be $75.9 billion next year, which is $12.6 billion higher than what was reported in the budget.
