Horner says Alberta economy unable to make full recovery because of carbon tax

Alberta Treasury Board President and Finance Minister Nate Horner said the provincial economy has not recovered from the state the NDP left it in because of the carbon tax. While the NDP introduced the carbon tax, Horner said it motivated the Canadian government to enact one across Canada. “So until it’s gone completely, I’d say we’re still dealing with the effects,” said Horner at a Friday panel at the Alberta United Conservative Party Annual General Meeting at Westerner Park in Red Deer. “But I’m expecting that to change very soon once Mr. [Pierre] Poilievre axes the tax.” When it comes to what Alberta Treasury Board and Finance is doing to ensure it retains and maintains fiscal stability, he confirmed it is following the fiscal rules implemented by former Treasury Board president and finance minister Travis Toews. Because Alberta’s budget relies on resource royalties, he said the volatility from them can make budgeting challenging. He pointed out the current rules do not mean Alberta will never run deficits, but they will lead to it running more surpluses and use them appropriately to deal with deficit years. From 2022 to 2023, the Alberta government paid down $13.3 billion in debt. While the NDP engaged in reckless spending, he said it is important the Alberta government has fiscal discipline in good years. Past governments used to spend large amounts of money in good years and have to cut back in bad ones. He said the Alberta government hopes to stabilize the fiscal rules for Alberta. The rules state it has to run a balanced budget. However, there are exceptions. If resource revenues drop by $1 billion year over year, it is given the grace to run a deficit, but it needs to have a plan to run a surplus in three years. He noted another important part is keeping operational expenses below population plus inflation. When cabinet ministers come to him asking for more money for projects, Treasury Board and Finance has to weigh them against other pressures happening during the year. When Alberta has a surplus, it has rules on how to manage it. The first 50% goes to debt repayment, and the other 50% is directed to it, putting it in the Heritage Fund, or one-time spends that do not increase the operational expense line. While the Alberta government is engaging in fiscal responsibility, Horner said the British Columbia government is taking its debt-to-GDP ratio from 14% to 30% this term. “And I think the biggest thing that I can do for a strong economy is manage the finances appropriately, and that will afford us to keep our broad advantages and you’ll continue to see people and businesses move here,” he said. Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors Minister Devin Dreeshen said it is difficult working with the Canadian government to build new roads. “You might remember Bill C-69, the No More Pipelines Act,” said Dreeshen. “In that act, it had a provision on new roads being built.” Dreeshen said the Canadian government would have required the Alberta government to submit impact assessments on new roads because of Bill C-69. Under the leadership of Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, the government challenged it and won its case in the Supreme Court of Canada. Alberta Tourism and Sport Minister Joseph Schow said the NDP did not care about tourism and thought it could create the best kinds of jobs when it was government “That’s not really how we see things and so we’ve increased the budget of Travel Alberta,” said Schow. “And because of the elite work of Travel Alberta and CEO David Goldstein, we were able to recover to pre-pandemic spending numbers two years ahead of schedule.” He acknowledged many people think tourism is about how many heads are in restaurants or hotels. For the Alberta government, he said it is about supporting local economies. Horner called on the Canadian government to scrap the carbon tax to address affordability concerns and strengthen the Canadian economy in December. .Horner calls on federal government to ditch the carbon tax.While the Canadian government wanted to maintain the carbon tax, he said Canada needs to be as competitive as possible to attract foreign investment and stem a flood of dollars to places such as the United States. Instead, he said it was clear from discussions including Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland that the Canadian government has no plan to address the concerns of average Canadians. He requested immediate action to address issues such as the rising cost of living.

Horner says Alberta economy unable to make full recovery because of carbon tax

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