EDMONTON—Alberta Finance Minister Travis Toews announced Thursday at a news conference that Alberta has a projected surplus of $12.3 billion in the 2022–23 mid-year budget. This is much higher than an earlier February forecast of only $511 million.
Toews said the surplus will allow the province to provide significant help to Albertans and their families so they can “keep more money in their pockets for groceries, gas, utilities, and other rising costs of day to day living.”
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith pledged $2.4 billion in the current and next fiscal year for a range of support and inflation relief measures targeted mainly toward middle- to lower-income families, seniors, and the vulnerable. There will be $600 benefits sent to some Albertans over the next six months, including families with children under 18 earning less than $180,000, seniors, and those who receive income support, Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped, and other government benefits. There will also be a six-month freeze on provincial fuel taxes….