MLAs Nolan Dyck and Ron Wiebe present Budget 2026 to Grande Prairie and District Chamber of Commerce (Image Credit: Everything GP Staff/Nathaniel leigh)

By Nathaniel Leigh

Budget 2026

Grande Prairie MLAs present Budget 2026 at Chamber of Commerce event Mar. 6.

Mar 8, 2026 | 9:00 AM

The Grande Prairie & District Chamber of Commerce held a meeting Friday, Mar. 6 to discuss the 2026 budget.

Grande Prairie MLA Nolan Dyck and Grande Prairie-Wapiti MLA Ron Wiebe presented the budget, which they state is focused on what matters most to Albertans as they face a potentially challenging year driven by changing world dynamics and lower oil prices.

Budget 2026 shows the province is looking at a $9.4-billion deficit but remains focused on investing in priority programs and services to keep moving forward.

Dyck says the deficit is due in part to current world dynamics as well as lower oil prices.

“Oil is looking to go a little bit lower, so we’re budgeting significantly lower for that,” he says. “Per dollar over the course of the year that’s $680 million. We’d have a significantly less deficit if we were able to see similar oil prices to last year, but we’ll keep hammering it and see where we can continue to go.”

Ron Wiebe says despite the pressure the province is facing, investments remain stable.

“Production continues to grow, exports remain strong and Alberta’s economy remains one of the most productive and investment-friendly jurisdictions in North America,” says Wiebe. “We’re planning conservatively so businesses can invest and investors know that the province is managing risk responsibly.”

Wiebe says they will not be cutting essential services or raising personal income taxes and are instead limiting spending growth to continue supporting economic expansion.

“Alberta still maintains one of the strongest fiscal positions in Canada, including the lowest net debt-to-GDP ratio among large provinces. This fiscal strength is our competitive advantage and we intend to keep it that way.”

Dyck says one local impact was the lack of provincial funding for the Maskwa Medical Centre project.

“I think we’ve been pretty supportive of the project overall,” he says. “One [of the three floors] is provincially funded for the residency clinic. There is support for the project from the province. They started off as a no-capital ask, came in needing some dollars, now we got to work within and see where we can be creative with that.”

More details on the 2026 Alberta budget can be found on the province’s website.