EDMONTON, AB: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is urging the Alberta government to cut spending in the wake of Alberta’s first quarter fiscal update that shows the government is increasing the debt compared to the budget.

“Premier Danielle Smith needs to start saying ‘NO’ a lot to pull Alberta out of this debt plunge,” said Kris Sims, CTF Alberta Director. “Albertans are paying more than $3 billion this year in debt interest payments – that’s the cost of three new hospitals.”

Alberta Finance Minister Nate Horner delivered the first quarter fiscal update on Thursday.

The provincial debt is going up and so are the costs of interest payments on the debt.

The government projected a provincial debt of $82.7 billion in the 2025-26 budget. The government is now forecasting the debt to be $84.3 billion by the end of the year. That’s an increase of $1.6 billion compared to the budget.

Interest payments on the debt are expected to cost taxpayers more than $3 billion or about $603 per Albertan, this year. That’s a $37-million increase from the budget.

The Alberta government recently committed to handing over $128 million in corporate welfare to the Edmonton Oilers NHL hockey club.

“Alberta can’t just say it’s doing better than other provinces on its budget - that’s like being proud of being the most sober person in the drunk tank,” said Sims. “The government can’t be doing things like handing out buckets of taxpayer cash to billionaire-owned hockey teams when its more than $84 billion in debt.

“The Alberta government must focus on reducing the size and cost of government to stop wasting taxpayers’ money on debt interest payments.” 

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