Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s First Budget Has $2.4 Billion Surplus, More Spending on Health Care, Education, Police

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith holds her first press conference in Edmonton, on Oct. 11, 2022. Jason Franson/The Canadian Press

Alberta’s United Conservative government delivered the 2023 budget on Feb. 28, the last one before a scheduled May election, and it includes a $2.4 billion surplus by 2024, despite more spending across the board.

The budget is balanced, with debt on the decline, according to Finance Minister Travis Toews. He said Albertans pay $20 billion less in taxes than they would if they lived in the next lowest-taxed province.