The UCP’s Fiscal Record

Alberta is entering this year’s budget with economic advantages most governments can only dream of. Yet, even with oil prices more than double what the previous NDP government had to work with, Danielle Smith’s UCP government is projecting a deficit.

The Alberta NDP governed during a historic oil price crash. With WTI falling below USD $30 USD per barrel, Alberta’s revenue base evaporated. Economists across the spectrum pointed to the global collapse (not provincial policy) as the driving force behind the deficits of that era. Unlike the NDP, the UCP cannot point to a global recession or a commodity collapse. What they can point to is their own decision‑making.

The government’s chaotic health‑care restructuring has created administrative churn, transition costs, and instability at a time when Albertans need reliability. The abrupt shutdown of the green‑energy industry — including the moratorium that froze billions in private investment — has undermined economic diversification and scared off investors. Procurement controversies, from sole‑sourced contracts to questionable vendor selection, have raised serious concerns about transparency and competence.

The Turkish Tylenol debacle remains a symbol of this mismanagement: $70 million for medication that was never used, $500,000 to store it for nearly three years, and now an additional $700,000 to destroy it. This is not fiscal discipline, it’s waste layered on waste.

Meanwhile, affordability pressures continue to climb. Insurance premiums are up. Utility bills remain volatile. Cuts and clawbacks to programs to support people with disabilities like AISH, PDD, and FSCD have left families worse off than before. Albertans are paying more and getting less, and the government’s focus appears fixed on ideological battles rather than easing the burden on households.

And now, after two years of the “Alberta is Calling” campaign, after writing to Ottawa asking for more immigrants and temporary workers, and after publicly stating she wanted Alberta’s population to double, Premier Smith is suddenly blaming newcomers for her own fiscal mismanagement.

This is not fiscal discipline. This is not steady management. These are the consequences of choices — choices that have increased costs for families while delivering a deficit in a period of strong oil prices.

Alberta has enjoyed the highest royalty revenue per capita since the Lougheed and Klein years. A deficit in these conditions points to choices, not circumstances—choices that have raised costs for families, undermined stability in core services, and left Alberta with less to show than we should expect.

Albertans deserve a budget, and a reasonable government that prioritizes health care, education, affordability, and long‑term stability. With every economic advantage at their fingertips, the UCP is still delivering a deficit.