Photo: Government of Alberta

By Shane Clausing

budget 2022

Toews sees Budget 2022 as positive for Peace Region

Feb 28, 2022 | 1:06 PM

Finance Minister and Grande Prairie-Wapiti MLA Travis Toews tabled Budget 2022 in the Alberta legislature last week.

The budget carries an estimated value of $62.3 billion and includes a $500 million surplus for 2022-23. This has allowed the province to have its first balanced budget since 2014.

Toews was in attendance at the grand opening ceremony of the Grande Prairie Regional Hospital on Saturday. In conversation with EverythingGP, Toews credits recent innovation in the province’s economy as the reason why the government was able to table a balanced budget.

“It was a real pleasure to present this budget. Firstly, there’s no doubt that higher energy prices were a part of the equation there, but the budget wasn’t drafted or built based on $80 or $90 oil,” said Toews.

“As we diversify this provincial economy, we start seeing strength in other revenue streams such as personal income tax and corporate income tax.”

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“We’ve had a couple of banner years in the tech sector, petrochemical manufacturing is growing significantly and we have billions of dollars of projects lined up in this province for the upcoming years,” he added.

“Ag. processing and manufacturing and film and television are really booming right now. We really are truly seeing diversified economic investment in the province and this budget reflects that economic growth.”

Toews says having the province lower its cost of spending has also been a major reason as to why this budget is balanced.

“If we had continued on (our projected) trajectory, we would have had a $6 billion deficit for the upcoming year. Higher energy prices are welcome,” he stated. “This budget shows the strength in the economy broadly and it also demonstrates the importance and success of us delivering fiscal discipline to the province.”

The budget was delivered just as oil and gas prices began to shoot up because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Gas prices going up will mean Albertans will be paying higher prices at home and when they go to fill up their vehicles.

Toews adds this budget does help those who are suffering from higher than average gas prices.

“One thing we did provide in Budget 2022 is we are reimplementing a consumer price protection measure. If natural gas prices go beyond 650 a gigajoule, there will be a rebate to Alberta consumers. That was patterned after the Ralph Klien consumer price measure that he brought in the early 2000s when natural gas prices went high.”

This year’s budget will also provide support to building and upgrading schools in the Peace Region, as well as attract healthcare workers to this area.