UCP Warns of Bad-News Budget, but Denies Responsibility
David Climenghaga
The poor little rich kid of Confederation is pleading poverty again. But take note, it’s not Alberta’s fault! (It’s never Alberta’s fault.)
In an announcement this week that the next Alberta budget will drop on Feb. 26, Finance Minister Nate Horner trotted out several traditional Alberta excuses about why we’re going to have to make some tough choices, tighten our belts, maybe even take a haircut, seeing as we’re completely incapable of managing the revenue side of a modern government.
“Albertans know these times aren’t easy and the path ahead will require tough choices, but Alberta’s government has a clear path forward,” Horner said, at best trying for a little expectation management, at worst admitting to the United Conservative Party government’s remarkable level of fiscal incompetence.
“We are making responsible decisions now, to protect the province’s financial future, stay focused on what matters, and ensure Alberta remains strong for our children and grandchildren,” he claimed.
The latter statement, straight from Horner’s news release ([url]https://www.alberta.ca/release.cfm?xID=955856DAD687A-FF7A-97AC-CFC5AFFFB1950F63[/url]), is obviously preposterous.
If Premier Danielle Smith’s government were making responsible decisions, it certainly wouldn’t be driving us toward a referendum on separation ([url]https://globalnews.ca/news/11644899/alberta-referendum-petition/[/url]) from Canada that has the potential to hobble the economy and bitterly divide Albertans for years, possibly for decades.
Likewise, if the government were making responsible decisions, it would not be needlessly reorganizing ([url]https://medicinehatnews.com/news/local-news/2025/12/23/year-in-review-corruption-confusion-and-contagion-2025-a-landmark-year-for-alberta-health/[/url]) Alberta’s health-care system for purely ideological reasons to the tune of at least a billion dollars and implementing a two-tier medical system ([url]https://albertapolitics.ca/2026/02/albertas-two-tier-health-care-bill-is-designed-to-kill-public-health-care-a-new-report-shows-how/[/url]) that will cost taxpayers more, bankrupt many citizens needing essential medical treatment and, quite possibly, end public health care throughout Canada.
And if the UCP were making responsible decisions, surely it would not have caused investment in renewable energy to crater ([url]https://thenarwhal.ca/alberta-renewable-energy-investment-collapse/[/url]), apparently because U.S. President Donald Trump hates windmills, and then done nothing about it when the results of their mismanagement came in.
Usually when an Alberta Conservative government warns that its budget “will focus on careful, disciplined decision-making to manage pressures, protect essential services, and keep Alberta’s finances stable during challenging times,” it means it’s looking for excuses for more privatization and fewer public services. There’s no reason to believe Horner’s message Tuesday means anything different.
When the UCP government cites “lower-than-anticipated oil prices,” that suggests they still haven’t figured out that commodity prices are cyclical — and, in the case of fossil fuels, bound to trend downward as the rest of the world electrifies. At this point in the history of Alberta, that is nothing but evidence of inexcusable fiscal malpractice.
But don’t worry, as long as Liberals remain in power in Ottawa, Alberta governments will always have a ready excuse for chronic economic mismanagement, and a significant portion of the population ready to believe it.
In fairness, it’s unlikely any Alberta government will ever have the courage to implement sane taxation measures that will end the fossil fuel roller-coaster Alberta perpetually rides. Pity.
David Climenghaga
The poor little rich kid of Confederation is pleading poverty again. But take note, it’s not Alberta’s fault! (It’s never Alberta’s fault.)
In an announcement this week that the next Alberta budget will drop on Feb. 26, Finance Minister Nate Horner trotted out several traditional Alberta excuses about why we’re going to have to make some tough choices, tighten our belts, maybe even take a haircut, seeing as we’re completely incapable of managing the revenue side of a modern government.
“Albertans know these times aren’t easy and the path ahead will require tough choices, but Alberta’s government has a clear path forward,” Horner said, at best trying for a little expectation management, at worst admitting to the United Conservative Party government’s remarkable level of fiscal incompetence.
“We are making responsible decisions now, to protect the province’s financial future, stay focused on what matters, and ensure Alberta remains strong for our children and grandchildren,” he claimed.
The latter statement, straight from Horner’s news release ([url]https://www.alberta.ca/release.cfm?xID=955856DAD687A-FF7A-97AC-CFC5AFFFB1950F63[/url]), is obviously preposterous.
If Premier Danielle Smith’s government were making responsible decisions, it certainly wouldn’t be driving us toward a referendum on separation ([url]https://globalnews.ca/news/11644899/alberta-referendum-petition/[/url]) from Canada that has the potential to hobble the economy and bitterly divide Albertans for years, possibly for decades.
Likewise, if the government were making responsible decisions, it would not be needlessly reorganizing ([url]https://medicinehatnews.com/news/local-news/2025/12/23/year-in-review-corruption-confusion-and-contagion-2025-a-landmark-year-for-alberta-health/[/url]) Alberta’s health-care system for purely ideological reasons to the tune of at least a billion dollars and implementing a two-tier medical system ([url]https://albertapolitics.ca/2026/02/albertas-two-tier-health-care-bill-is-designed-to-kill-public-health-care-a-new-report-shows-how/[/url]) that will cost taxpayers more, bankrupt many citizens needing essential medical treatment and, quite possibly, end public health care throughout Canada.
And if the UCP were making responsible decisions, surely it would not have caused investment in renewable energy to crater ([url]https://thenarwhal.ca/alberta-renewable-energy-investment-collapse/[/url]), apparently because U.S. President Donald Trump hates windmills, and then done nothing about it when the results of their mismanagement came in.
Usually when an Alberta Conservative government warns that its budget “will focus on careful, disciplined decision-making to manage pressures, protect essential services, and keep Alberta’s finances stable during challenging times,” it means it’s looking for excuses for more privatization and fewer public services. There’s no reason to believe Horner’s message Tuesday means anything different.
When the UCP government cites “lower-than-anticipated oil prices,” that suggests they still haven’t figured out that commodity prices are cyclical — and, in the case of fossil fuels, bound to trend downward as the rest of the world electrifies. At this point in the history of Alberta, that is nothing but evidence of inexcusable fiscal malpractice.
But don’t worry, as long as Liberals remain in power in Ottawa, Alberta governments will always have a ready excuse for chronic economic mismanagement, and a significant portion of the population ready to believe it.
In fairness, it’s unlikely any Alberta government will ever have the courage to implement sane taxation measures that will end the fossil fuel roller-coaster Alberta perpetually rides. Pity.
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