By Cathy Gibson / with files from The Canadian Press

Alberta 2022 Budget passed in the legislature

Mar 25, 2022 | 5:05 PM

The Alberta legislature passed the provincial budget Thursday, March 24, 2022, after some heated debate from both sides of the house.

READ MORE: Alberta presents balanced budget for 2022

NDP MLA Jon Carson said the vote was not just about the budget, but about having confidence in Premier Jason Kenney’s leadership.

“Every single budget is actually a confidence vote in this house. It is asking each and every one of us, ‘do we support this premier, do we feel he deserves to lead this province?’ I know there [are] a lot of us in here that don’t, and they aren’t just on this side of the house.”

Carson was referring to the fact that some members of Kenney’s own party have been calling for his resignation.

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The newest member of the UCP caucus, Brian Jean, who recently came into office via a by-election, has been an outspoken opponent of Jason Kenny ever since Kenney defeated him in the 2017 UCP leadership race.

This week, two additional UCP backbenchers joined the call for Kenney’s resignation, after changes were made to the voting process for next month’s UCP leadership review.

UCP MLAs Peter Guthrie and Jason Stephan say the party’s late changes were designed to ensure Kenney wins a vote that he was destined to lose.

READ MORE: Two of Alberta Premier’s caucus members urge him to quit to renew party

The party changed the in-person vote, which was scheduled to take place April 9, 2022, in Red Deer, to a mail-in ballot process.

The ongoing controversy sparked a heated debate about the budget in the legislature Thursday, with the NDP focused on questioning Kenny’s leadership, and the UCP focused on defending the budget.

“Don’t ever forget, we’re all here to represent the voices of all of our constituents. Do your constituents support this premier?” NDP MLA Carson continued, “Do they feel this premier should be allowed to lead this province? By standing and putting your name forward in favour of this vote, you are telling all of those people that you support the leadership as it currently stands.”

Finance Minister Travis Toews defended his party’s 2022 budget during the house debate.

“We call it fiscal responsibility, so we’re not downloading irresponsible decisions on the next generation,” Toews said. “There is lots in this budget for Albertans, not only for this generation, but for the next as well.”

Meanwhile, NDP leader Rachel Notley was in Lethbridge Thursday, where she said, “There’s good reason to vote against the budget. We call it the ‘no-help budget’. It’s a budget that does nothing to protect Albertans from the affordability crisis that so many people are feeling.”

READ MORE: Notley talks non-confidence vote, economy during Lethbridge speech

The Alberta legislature eventually voted to pass the 2022 budget following the debate on Thursday. Premier Jason Kenney says it’s the first balanced provincial budget in eight years.