Prices at many Edmonton gas stations have jumped to about $1.50 per litre for regular gasoline, as the conflict in the Middle East drives up the price of oil.

Wholesale gasoline has risen roughly 20 cents since Tuesday while diesel is up nearly 40 cents — which energy analyst Dan McTeague said has a much wider impact.

“Those prices are going to be making their way throughout the entire economy,”  said McTeague, who is the president of the advocacy group Canadians for Affordable Energy.

“The reality is, diesel is at the core of the global economy — the global economy’s workhorse — and as we’ve seen an increase of about 20-25 per cent of its value just in the past 96 to 120 hours, it’s likely to have a much longer-lasting impact on affordability and inflation in Canada.

“Diesel prices affects everything.”

The jump at the pump coincides with global oil prices, which have soared in the days following the joint attack by the United States and Israel on Iran.

2:09
How the Iran war is disrupting the Strait of Hormuz, oil and gas prices

Iran responded by closing the Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Persian Gulf — one of the busiest and most strategically significant shipping routes in the world and a key oil choke point — going so far as threatening to set ships on fire if they enter the strait.

About 13 million barrels of oil per day normally move through the waters — about 25 per cent of global oil shipments. It’s not just oil: about 20 per cent of the world’s total liquified natural gas (LNG) supply also comes through this route.

The closure has disrupted oil and gas shipments from the region and rattled markets around the world.

On Monday, March 2, Brent Crude — the global benchmark — reached about US$79 per barrel before declining slightly, about eight per cent higher than last week’s prices. By Friday, it had jumped up to nearly $93US a barrel.

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Meanwhile West Texas Intermediate, the North American benchmark, started the week at US$71 per barrel — a six per cent increase over the weekend — before ending the week increasing to $90US a barrel.

It’s the biggest weekly gain since Russia invaded Ukraine, said Richard Masson, an industry analyst and former CEO of the Alberta Petroleum Marketing Commission.

“The global energy market right now is in turmoil, nobody knows what’s going to happen next,” Masson said.

For Canada, the conflict is likely to lead to not just higher prices for gasoline and diesel, but increased prices for imported goods, according to Warren Mabee, director of the Queen’s University Institute for Energy and Environmental Policy.

Although Canada is a net oil exporter, Mabee said domestic fuel prices are tied to global benchmarks and reflect international volatility while at the same time, the Canadian oil patch often benefits from higher global prices. Elevated prices can boost revenues and investment in the sector, even as consumers face higher costs at the pump.

It also boosts the Alberta government’s bottom line.

The price of oil tends to make or break the province’s budget, which is heavily reliant on royalties from oil and gas operations in the province.

Last week, the provincial government projected a $9.4-billion deficit for the coming year, based predominantly on what, at the time, were slagging oil prices of US$60.50 per barrel.

1:52
Alberta projects $9.4B deficit with no plan to balance budget

Masson said this week’s increase, if sustained for a length of time, could mean hundreds of millions — if not billions — more into provincial coffers than what was expected when the budget was announced.

So far, though, there’s no sign of operational changes within the private sector.

“We haven’t seen any indication that investment will grow up or jobs will grow, but it means a higher level of profitability for the companies and that translates into higher royalties and taxes,” Masson said.

Alberta’s finance ministry on Friday said in a statement it’s too early to determine whether recent fluctuations will have an impact on the budget.

“Higher prices can support resource revenues if they are sustained, but it’s important to remember that revenues are driven by monthly average prices over time, not daily trading levels.”

Masson said the disruption to shipping and the prospect of reduced flows through key routes will keep upward pressure on global oil prices until the situation eases.

“Until this conflict resolves in a way that we can view Iran as less hostile, I don’t think there are going to be many ships moving through there, so oil prices globally are going to continue to ratchet up as long as this carries on,” Masson said.

McTeague says that means consumer gas and diesel prices will also continue to increase.

“Next week we might see prices go even higher — another 10 to 12 cents at least on the gasoline side, and probably another 20 cents on the diesel side.”

5:01
Analysts expect energy prices to spike as the war in the Middle East drags on

Canada could have avoided being affected so much if it invested more in getting its own oil and gas resources to the global market, McTeague argues.

“An energy-rich country has become consumer poor and has become totally dependent on unreliable outcomes,” he said.

— with files from Lauren Krugel, The Canadian Press

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Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas is floating the idea of a city-wide plebiscite on the amount of property taxes the city sends the provincial government, as city council mulls its options to respond to the latest provincial budget.

Farkas made the comments during a special meeting of council Wednesday, in which city councillors discussed the impacts of the provincial budget on Calgarians.

“Asking any question of Calgarians is very serious, but we want to continue to fight for our fair share,” Farkas told reporters following the meeting.

Last week, the provincial government tabled its 2026 budget, which included a $9.4 billion deficit as well as a $200 million increase to the amount of property taxes it collects from Calgarians to cover the education budget.

The province expects to generate $3.6 billion from the education property tax this year; $1.2 billion of that has been requisitioned from the City of Calgary and $639 million from the City of Edmonton.

When combined with the reduced 1.6 per cent property tax increase approved by city council last year, the typical homeowner in Calgary will pay an additional $388 this year, while the average commercial property will face a hike of $2,945 in 2026.

“The fact that Calgarians are paying double what the City of Edmonton pays, there’s something wrong there,” Ward 6 Coun. John Pantazopoulos said. “I think it’s a bit disappointing.”

According to data presented to council Wednesday, the provincial property tax requisition from Calgary has increased by 58.6 per cent over the last four years.

“We’ve seen nowhere near a 60 per cent boost in the services or the infrastructure that the City of Calgary receives from the province,” Farkas said.

City officials told council that many of the funding requests from the City of Calgary went unfulfilled in this year’s provincial budget, including cost-sharing for utility and transportation infrastructure for Prairie Economic Gateway, an increase of support for the low-income transit pass, and matching funding for the city’s mental health and addictions strategy.

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However, officials said the province did boost funding for the Affordable Housing Partnership Program, as well as to build 14 new schools in Calgary.

In response, a spokesperson for Alberta’s education minister said both major school boards in Calgary will receive $2.24 billion in operating funding this year, and the new schools bring the total to 45 projects underway in the city.  They also noted a $144 million investment for Calgary charter schools in the budget.

“So clearly the province is investing far more than it receives from Calgarians, back into the city’s school system,” Garrett Koehler said in statement.

The statement went on to say the province understands the mayor’s “desire to ensure that property taxes are transparent and that Calgarians understand how they are used to improve the services they receive.”

“I’m not here to defend the province,” Ward 13 Coun. Dan McLean told reporters. “But everybody asked for more teachers, more schools, more supports, and that comes at a cost.”

To help differentiate between the municipal and provincial property tax increase, Farkas suggested the City of Calgary send out two separate bills to homeowners and businesses.

City officials said the provincial property tax increase will be larger and bolded on upcoming bills, but legislation prevents the city from sending multiple bills.

Some on council questioned the purpose of Wednesday’s special meeting, which ended with few actions to respond to the provincial property tax increase.

“Just performative, we didn’t really accomplish anything today,” Ward 14 Coun. Landon Johnston said. “A lot of questions could’ve been sent through an email.”

However, experts suggest the city is limited in its ability to respond to the budget because municipalities fall within provincial jurisdiction.

“There’s a lot of latitude for the province, and not much, at least jurisdictionally in terms of actual powers that belong to the municipal government,” said Lori Williams, an associate professor of policy studies at Mount-Royal University in Calgary.

“But I think there’s something that can be done politically, and that’s exactly what I think (city council) is trying to do.”

During the meeting, Farkas asked about the potential for a plebiscite on the issue, and made the comparison to the referendum question from the province to remove equalization payments from the Canadian Constitution during the 2021 municipal election.

However, no formal motion was introduced to start the process or craft a question to be considered for a vote.

City chief returning officer Kate Martin said Elections Calgary would require six months from the time a question is determined to hold a vote, which could cost upwards of $12 million.

“At this point, we’re just asking questions,” Farkas said.

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As concerns rise over high oil prices due to the war in Iran, Canada’s oil-producing provinces could actually see revenue increase.

The price for a barrel of crude topped USD$73 in the early morning on Monday, up from less than $64 on Feb. 26. As of Tuesday afternoon, that number had jumped to about $74.83.

For Alberta, which has projected a $9.4-billion deficit for the 2026-27 fiscal year, the oil price shift could mean a decrease in that large number.

“If prices stay in the low 70s, our deficit could drop into the $3 billion range and that would be helpful,” said Richard Masson, former chief executive officer of the Alberta Petroleum Marketing Commission.

“But we don’t know what’s going to happen and so I wouldn’t count on that yet.”

In its budget, Alberta had projected West Texas Intermediate — considered the lifeblood benchmark oil price for the province’s economy — to average $60.50 a barrel in the upcoming fiscal year.

Alberta Finance Minister Nate Horner told reporters when the budget was released that if oil prices stay low indefinitely, the structural deficit would become “extremely obvious.”

An exact estimate is difficult to predict, but Alberta Premier Danielle Smith told reporters on Monday a change is possible from the $4.1 billion deficit estimated for the current fiscal year.

“I suspect that rather than a $4.1 billion deficit that we were projecting in the budget, it might be somewhat less than that,” Smith said.

A day later, Horner told reporters a sustained period of high oil prices would help.

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“An extra month at elevated prices would have a dramatic impact,” he said Tuesday. “I don’t want to speculate on how much that will change things for this year, but we know it will help, we know we’re on the right side of it.”

It would depend how long the increased prices last, Horner said, and if it stays at that level it would “help the books.”

University of Calgary economist Trevor Tombe said it’s common that when a major item produced by a province sees the price go up, it’s a good economic story.

“At the end of the day, a lot of the resources we produce in Canada are owned by provincial governments,” he said.

“So when the value goes up, that does mean more revenue to the government and the effect can actually be enormous.”

1:57
How the Iran war impacts inflation, energy prices, even your mortgage

Tombe said in the case of Alberta, every $1 per barrel change is equal to about $680 million to the government’s bottom line.

With the price of $74 per barrel of crude about $14 above the provincial estimate, it could equal $30 million per day to the government’s bottom line.

He added if that held for the month of March, that could equal up to $1 billion for the final month of the 2025-26 fiscal year.

“That basically means that if it holds, of course for an entire year, and who knows what the future holds, but if it holds it may very well have a balanced budget,” Tombe said.

Next door in Saskatchewan, another oil-producing province, the impact may differ.

In last year’s budget, the province estimated oil and natural gas revenue at $1.1 billion. It also estimated a barrel of oil at US$71 in the 2025-26 budget.

“The price of oil has jumped in the last few days, nobody anticipated that a month ago,” said Saskatchewan Finance Minister Jim Reiter.

Reiter noted to reporters the province has tried not to rely too much on natural resources and that remains the goal.

Tombe noted to Global News that the province is less reliant on oil compared to Alberta, but he estimated an equivalent change for Saskatchewan would amount to about $800 million.

“Oil prices matter for Saskatchewan, but the size of the effect is much, much smaller than in Alberta which means … they don’t face the same kind of volatile budget that Alberta does,” he said.

Saskatchewan’s finance minister said any budget-specific questions would be deferred until budget day, March 18.

Even though high oil prices could boost provincial budgets, everyday Canadians could still be hit hard both at the gas pump and in their wallet, Tombe cautioned.

“When the price of anything that we buy goes up, that does lower our purchasing power,” he said. “The increase in oil prices that we’re seeing now, if that lasts, then we may very well see inflation rise.”

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Alberta’s newly-tabled budget, and its impact on local property taxes, is facing criticism from Calgary council and the city’s mayor, who is calling for more transparency around how the money will be spent.

On Thursday, the provincial government unveiled its budget with a second straight increase to the education property tax rate to generate $3.6 billion; $1.2 billion of that has been requisitioned from the City of Calgary.

New city data shows the move means that 42 cents of every property tax dollar collected in Calgary will go to the provincial government.

At a press conference Friday, Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas expressed his disappointment in the budget’s impact on city taxpayers.

“It is looking a lot like Calgary’s deal in Alberta is very similar to what Danielle Smith says Alberta’s deal is in Canada,” Farkas said. “But, for us, we want to come to the table, we want to be collaborative, we want to work with the provincial government.”

Although Farkas noted some “positives” in the budget, including funding for affordable housing and for maintenance for seniors homes, he questioned what Calgarians are getting back from the money sent to the province.

The increase is expected to cost the typical Calgary homeowner an extra $340 this year.

In comparison, city council whittled down the property tax increase in its budget back in December to 1.6 per cent, which is expected to cost the average homeowner an extra $54 in 2026.

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“We did the work,” Farkas told reporters. “To have a scale of increase 10 times the tax increase being lobbed by the provincial government in a single year without any kind of head start or notice, that is just incredibly egregious.”

The provincial budget does include billions of dollars in continued and previously-announced investments for Calgary, including ongoing funding for the Green Line LRT, upgrades to Deerfoot Trail, and the infrastructure around the new event centre, as well as $67 million over three years for the city’s court of appeal, and $10 million for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

Other provincial facilities in the city also saw a boost, including the Foothills Medical Centre Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, the Calgary Radiopharmaceutical Centre, the Alberta Kidney Care, Bethany Continuing Care Centre and the Bridgeland Riverside Continuing Care Centre.

However, Farkas said it was “sobering” the budget didn’t include a mention of the Prairie Economic Gateway project, or the Bearspaw feeder main, which has prompted an emergency replacement after two critical ruptures in less than two years.

“If there wasn’t a huge tax increase, I wouldn’t be expecting add-ons for the City of Calgary,” Farkas said.

Finance minister Nate Horner defended the tax hike during a post-budget address to an audience of the city’s business community at a luncheon hosted by the Calgary Chamber of Commerce.

Horner said the increase is to help fund a third of the education ministry’s operating budget, which was telegraphed in last year’s budget.

“We didn’t want to put it all onto folks in one year, so we staggered it over two,” Horner said. “I’m surprised that everyone is this surprised, to be honest.”

Horner told the audience that the education budget is $10.8 billion this year, and the construction of new schools is “dominating” the provincial capital budget.

He said out of 40 new schools announced this year, 14 will be in Calgary.

While the investment and new schools are welcomed,  Ward 10 Coun. Andre Chabot, who was also in attendance at the event, said the funding is addressing matters that fall under provincial jurisdiction.

“The majority of the things he was talking about are things that fall under provincial obligations, not municipal obligations,” Chabot said. “He didn’t talk about water infrastructure for the City of Calgary, he talked about infrastructure, alright, but provincial infrastructure.”

Chabot said the budget is “seriously lacking” in support for municipal infrastructure.

Ward 13 Coun. Dan McLean said the property tax increase will be challenging to stomach for some residents.

“This is going to be a really tough sell to Calgarians,” McLean said. “I think it’s very important that we let our residents know what the province is requesting from them and what the city is taking from them, because this is a large increase.”

Farkas said city council will be discussing measures to respond to the property tax increase, which could include sending two separate property tax bills to Calgarians.

Late Friday, Farkas called a special council meeting on March 4 for that debate.

In comparison, the education property tax requisition is nearly $640 million in Edmonton, which is expected to cost the typical homeowner in that city an extra $154 this year.

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Albertans should be taking the time to think about whether the province’s tax structure is the right one nowadays, the finance minister says.

Nate Horner said Thursday that he wants taxpayers to think about that after he tabled Alberta’s 2026 budget, which features a staggering $9.4-billion deficit for the year.

“This is a novel time, but there will be lots of questions, no doubt, and there should be at kitchen tables everywhere: is this the right tax structure for the province?” he asked.

“Affordability is still such a major concern. One thing I am interested in is if our tax structure is the most efficient for Alberta. It’s challenging when your main buckets are really only PIT [personal income tax] and CIT [corporate income tax].”

The budget is a result of the drop in the price of oil — a $3.1-billion drop in non-renewable resource revenue — along with global uncertainty and an increase in demand for services, the province said on Thursday.

The province projects West Texas Intermediate to average US$60.50 a barrel in the upcoming fiscal year, but it’s not nearly enough to balance the books. Alberta will continue to be in the red for the next two fiscal years, with the deficit projected to drop to $7.6 billion next year and $6.9 billion in 2028-29.

2:03
Fees and taxes: How the 2026 Alberta budget may hit your wallet

While there will be no changes to PIT and CIT in the budget, there are several other ways Albertans will be paying more through fees and changes to the education property tax.

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Consumers will also pay more on several items, from dangerous driving tickets to registry fees and car rentals.

If oil prices stay low indefinitely, Alberta’s structural deficit will become “extremely obvious,” Horner said, but added he doesn’t have a mandate to tinker with the province’s tax system right now.

Though it has been flirted with in the past, Alberta doesn’t have a provincial sales tax.

“We have made some small changes in this budget around the tourism levy, increasing from four to six per cent. There’s a rental car tax addition. There is some challenges there, but I think it’s something we need to hear from Albertans,” Horner said.

“There’s no immediate plan to increase tax rates or taxes outside of the ones that we spoke about … but I do think it’ll spark larger conversations across the province, as it should.”

1:54
Alberta budget 2026 comes with some spending hikes but also a $9.4B deficit

Earlier this week, Horner said a five per cent sales tax in an economy like Alberta’s could drive about $6 billion in revenue.

However, the budget estimates that Alberta’s current tax structure saves businesses and individuals about $17 billion – if not more – when compared with tax rates in other provinces.

Moshe Lander, a senior lecturer of economics at Concordia University, told Global News Friday that as frustrating as it would be to have a sales tax, it would provide stability for the government.

It needs to be carefully considered, and it could be rebated back to lower-income Albertans, he added.

“There are ways that you could adjust the income tax structure so that overall it doesn’t necessarily, at the average, increase the amount we have to pay. The good thing about the sales tax, if I could sell a sales tax, is that it’s pretty stable. It’s not going to be subject to oil and gas prices,” Lander said.

“People are loath to change their spending plans, regardless of the climate in which they find themselves. That means the amount of revenue the government can book is going to be stable, too. That allows them to make clear decisions about what their spending plans are going to be going forward.”

Duane Bratt, a political science professor at Mount Royal University, told Global News Friday if the government – or any future government – introduces a sales tax, “it would be destroyed.”

“No future government would get rid of it. They all acknowledge that it’s important,” he said.

“They just don’t want to be the ones to be blamed for doing it.”

5:15
Economist Moshe Lander reacts to Alberta’s financial picture

The budget – which is the United Conservatives’ second in a row to feature a deficit – is getting its fair share of criticism, and even some praise.

The Opposition NDP said the government has mismanaged the economy, wasting profits from the past oil boom while saddling future generations with debt.

The mayors of Alberta’s two biggest cities have differing views, with Calgary’s Jeromy Farkas taking issue with education property taxes going up and Edmonton’s Andrew Knack pointing to the need to properly pay for schools.

The president of Alberta’s doctors’ association said the nearly six per cent increase in health-care spending is welcome news; the Alberta Teachers’ Association said it hopes the province follows through on budgeted promises of more money.

The deficit breaks a threshold for going into the red legislated by Premier Danielle Smith’s government.

Horner said the consequences of that are “political.”

“We created these rules, and I’m breaking them,” he said.

“So it bothers nobody more than it does me.”

— with files from The Canadian Press

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Premier Danielle Smith’s UCP government has introduced a new Alberta budget that promises more money for health and education but also an eye-popping deficit of $9.4 billion.

Finance Minister Nate Horner says coping with a rising population and lower-than-expected oil prices is putting the squeeze on Alberta’s bottom line.

Horner says the prudent course is to weather the economic storm and work to build the province.

The budget is the second consecutive multibillion-dollar deficit from Smith’s United Conservatives, and they’re forecasting more deficits through to 2029.

The taxpayer-supported debt is also going up and is expected to surpass $100 billion about a year from now.

1:57
Alberta budget deficit expected despite record resource revenue

While income taxes aren’t increasing to make up the shortfall, there are several other ways Albertans will be paying more through fees and changes to the education property tax.

Consumers will also pay more on a number of items, from dangerous driving tickets to registry fees and car rentals.

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There will also fewer provincial supports for the province’s growing motion picture industry, as the government has reduced the Film and Television Tax Credit by $35 million to $60 million.

It comes after last year’s budget 2025 committed $235 million over the ensuing three years to the FTTC program designed to attract large-scale productions.

Here are some of the highlights

— The government expects to take in $74.6 billion while spending $83.9 billion (including $2 billion set aside as a contingency fund).

— It predicts a $9.4-billion deficit, the largest since the COVID-19 crisis when the budget came in nearly $17 billion in the red for 2020-2021.

— This is the second deficit under Premier Danielle Smith, with a $7.6 billion deficit projected for 2027 and a $6.9 billion deficit for the year after that.

— Taxpayer supported debt is set to increase by nearly $17 billion, reaching almost $109 billion in 2026 and almost $138 billion by 2029.

— Spending on education and health care is boosted at rates higher than the rate of population plus inflation (pegged in the budget at 3.7 per cent).

— Big ticket spending on education at $10.8 billion (7.2 per cent more than last year) and health care at $34.4 billion (5.8 per cent more than 2025-2026).

— A tax is to be introduced in 2027 on personal rental vehicles. It’s to be set at six per cent of the price of the rental before other taxes are calculated. Long-term leases and non-passenger rentals, like moving trucks, are to be excluded.

— A mandatory tourism levy applied to hotel rooms and other short-term accommodations rises in April to six per cent from four per cent.

— Fees and penalties are going up for some driving offences, corporate registry filing and licensing, and registration for businesses and charities

More to come…

— With a file from Karen Bartko, Global News

&copy 2026 The Canadian Press

It’s budget day in Alberta, and the overarching question is not whether the budget will show a deficit, but exactly how many billions of dollars in the red it will be.

Premier Danielle Smith has signalled for weeks that the deficit is going to be, in her words, “significant” but has not provided a dollar figure.

She says the main culprit is low oil prices but has also pointed to the costs associated with sharp population growth, blaming the previous federal government for allowing immigration levels to spike.

Despite the red ink, Smith has said her government won’t look to tax hikes and “deep” service cuts to balance the books.

Her United Conservative government has already offered details about some key spending initiatives, including $10.8 billion on education, a seven per cent increase from last year’s budget.

It has also touted a 22 per cent increase to spending on doctors, promising $7.7 billion for pay and recruitment efforts.

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Alberta’s financial fate has long been tethered to a roller-coaster of oil and gas revenues, and the province does not charge a provincial sales tax.

On Wednesday, Finance Minister Nate Horner told reporters that the province has in past years relied relies on resource revenues of $20 billion or more, but said this time around that number will be “dramatically lower than that.”

He said population growth has put pressure on health and education spending, along with increased construction costs. He said there’s going to be an “ongoing” conversation about the extent to which revenue, taxation levels and cutting expenses factor into provincial debt.

“Affordability is still a major challenge across the province, and I would say we think that Alberta’s balance sheet is able to weather this (better) than many Albertan households,” he said.

1:40
‘It’s bad’: Alberta energy sector nervous for slumping oil prices

Horner said a five per cent provincial sales tax in an economy like Alberta’s could drive about $6 billion in revenue, but said he’s not promoting a referendum on a potential PST “right now.”

In the current budget year, which runs to the end of March, Alberta is forecasting a $6.4-billion deficit based on a reduced average price of West Texas Intermediate, the North American benchmark for oil, at US$61.50 a barrel.

Smith said they would have needed oil to average US$74 a barrel this year to avoid a deficit.

Opposition NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi says the budget is one more tangible indicator of a government that doesn’t know how to govern.

Nenshi told reporters Wednesday that life has become more expensive under the UCP, the health-care system has “collapsed” and people are losing faith in the education system.

“They can’t balance the budget, and they can’t invest in the things that people want, and so this budget is a chance for them to turn it around — and they won’t be able to turn it around,” he said.

The NDP says rather than take responsibility for the budget, Smith prefers to blame immigrants and oil.

“These are all the results of choices that this government has made,” Nenshi said.

1:57
Alberta budget deficit expected despite record resource revenue

&copy 2026 The Canadian Press

“In my seven years as president, I have not witnessed such a significant investment into our schools, one that is a meaningful step forward towards addressing the challenging learning conditions that have hindered our students and teachers for far too long.”

That’s how Alberta Teacher Association president Jason Schilling reacted to the Alberta government’s announcement that next year’s budget, to be tabled in the legislature on Thursday, will include $143 million to hire 1,600 teachers and 800 support staff “in the coming years” to help combat the classroom overcrowding and complexity issues.

“Alberta has one of the best school systems in the entire world and we are determined to ensure that it has what it needs to keep it that way,” said Premier Danielle Smith, during a Wednesday morning press conference in Edmonton.

“Budget 26 will provide a record $10.8 billion for our education system. That is a $722-million increase or a 7-per cent increase from last year,” added Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides.

“Over the next three years, education funding will reach $11.5 billion by 2028-29, helping to hire more than 5,000 teachers, educational assistants, and support staff.”

While Schilling called the announcement “a historic investment in our classroom,” he also cautioned that success will be measured not just by dollars on paper, but “by the number of new staff and new supports that arrive in our classrooms.”

“A top priority must be the expansion of complexity teams across all schools, including junior and senior high schools, and ensuring that the 1,600 new teachers can begin to address large class sizes,” added Schilling.

“Promising to uphold Alberta as a world-class education system means nothing unless government and school boards deliver these resources and more.”

3:53
Alberta Premier Smith says provinces ‘have the right’ to send labour unions back to work

The Alberta NDP, however, is skeptical. “Where are these teachers going to come from? This is a profession that is struggling to retain and attract new people,” said NDP shadow minister for education, Amanda Chapman.

“If you talk to teachers — and I talk to a lot of teachers these days; they stop me literally wherever I am — it is a profession that is feeling disrespected, it’s feeling a lot of concern about the rates at which they’re losing new teachers.” said Chapman.

“We know that the sub shortage is real across this province,” agreed Schilling. “We do not have enough teachers who are working in that capacity. So what I also expect to see from government in their announcement (Budget 26) is to build the capacity of programs in universities to provide the funding that has been cut to universities over the years so that they can expand their programs, get more people who are interested in being teachers, so that we can graduate more people within the province who will be willing to work within our schools.”

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Despite Wednesday’s announcement, Schilling’s skepticism remains high.

“There was no direct conversations between the ATA and the government to direct this funding. We’ll need to see some more specifics in terms of what the funding increases are for certain envelopes, for example, targeted funding for special needs students,” added Schilling.

Schilling pointed to last October’s three-week-long strike by Alberta’s 51,000 teachers and the public support it generated, as key to convincing the provincial to increase education spending — a suggestion the premier responded to by saying, “I think they’re tied.”

But the ATA president is also still angry about the UCP government’s decision to legislate an end to the strike.

“My cynicism around the use of the notwithstanding clause in the way that government approaches labour is very high,” said Schilling.

“Until we actually see them do something different, act in a way that is different, act in the away that is more authentic, that is engaging, then maybe I’ll change my mind.”

2:23
Alberta teachers report widespread low morale, burnout and despair in new survey

&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and the province’s Minister of Education and Childcare Demetrios Nicolaides will be holding a news conference on Wednesday to discuss how this week’s provincial budget will affect education funding.

The announcement comes a day before the budget is scheduled to be tabled in the Alberta legislature amidst government warnings that it will include a deficit of at least $6.4 billion.

Education funding and classroom makeup have been a major point of contention between the provincial government and Alberta’s 51,000 teachers.

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Teachers staged a three-week-long strike last fall that ended when the UCP passed back-to-work legislation and invoked the Canadian Constitution’s notwithstanding clause to prevent educators from challenging the legislation in court.

The Alberta Teachers’ Association is also expected to respond to the government announcement Wednesday afternoon.

The Premier and education minister are scheduled to speak at 11:45 a.m. Wednesday. Global News will livestream it in the video player above.

2:23
Alberta teachers report widespread low morale, burnout and despair in new survey

&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.