The leader of the Alberta NDP says the United Conservative government’s 2026 budget piles on debt without improving services and leaves the province with no clear path to balance.
NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi said the $9.4-billion projected deficit, which is expected to be followed by two more years of shortfalls, shows the government has “spent so much money to deliver so little.”
Nenshi said Alberta is in the largest oil-production boom in the province’s history, with output at record highs, and accused Premier Danielle Smith’s government of squandering it.
“Yet this government has managed to rack up massive deficits. This government has done something no Alberta government has done before. They’ve wasted the boom during the boom,” Nenshi said.
Finance Minister Nate Horner’s budget forecasts deficits of $9.4 billion in 2026-27, $7.6 billion in 2027-28 and $6.9 billion in 2028-29. According to Horner, the government will not raise personal income taxes or make major program cuts.
Nenshi said the budget fails to ease the cost of living for Albertans or address major concerns.
“This budget doesn’t fix the health-care crisis. This budget doesn’t solve crowding in emergency rooms. This budget doesn’t get you a family doctor,” he said. “This budget doesn’t improve classrooms.”
He argued the government is breaching its own fiscal framework legislation, making Budget 2026 illegal.
“The UCP passed a law requiring a balanced budget. It doesn’t have a path to balance, and the deficit in this budget is higher than is allowed by law,” Nenshi said.
He added there is “no path to balance” in the government’s fiscal plan and said the UCP is on track to double its debt over a single term.
Nenshi criticized what he called wasteful spending, including a failed private lab services deal, health-care restructuring costs and spending tied to a new Calgary arena agreement.
NDP Finance Critic Court Ellingson said Albertans are being asked “to pay more and get less,” highlighting fee increases and rising debt-servicing costs.
“They’ve racked up so much debt that just the cost of carrying the debt is equal to what they spend on public safety, mental health and addictions and all environmental protections combined,” Ellingson said.
According to Nenshi, before the government considers increasing taxes, it must first cut waste and duplication, particularly in the restructured health system.
“Let’s talk about delivering services directly to the front line. So if Minister Horner is sincere about having a real conversation with Albertans about revenue, and about what kinds of revenue that Albertans would support, we’re happy to engage in that conversation with open minds and open hearts,” he said.
Nenshi referenced the bag o’chips tax cut, “a bag of chips a day for the average Albertan,” which he said has led to massive debt and future taxation.
“When the finance minister talks about his mandate, perhaps he should understand that his mandate is to govern Alberta well, to handle the money well, to grow the economy, and to assure jobs for people, and certainly they’re not living within that mandate,” he said.
The official opposition leader added that if the UCP government does not want to work within the mandate Albertans have given them, it should call an election.
