Alberta is creating a provincial corporation, Health Shared Services (HSS), to centralize corporate services between its four health agencies. In Budget 2026, $2.3 billion will be going toward HSS, which aims to deliver shared corporate services like information technology, finance, human resources and other supports across Primary and Preventative, Hospital and Surgical services as well as Assisted Living and Social Services, and Mental Health and Addiction. The total health-care budget is $34.4 billion – up about $2 billion from 2025 – which includes $13.8 billion to operate and expand hospitals, surgeries, emergency services, and diagnostics. Hospital and Surgical Health Services will get $13.8 billion, $2 billion will go toward Mental Health and Addiction, and Assisted Living and Social Services will receive $5.8 billion. Of the $12.6 billion allocated to Primary and Preventative Health Services, $436 million will go to HSS. The remainder of the operating funding for HSS will come from revenues through the other three provincial health agencies, said the province. Earlier this week, the province earmarked $7.7 billion of the health-care budget for physician recruitment, training and compensation. The province allocated $81 million to restructure and modernize Alberta’s health-care system last year. An annual report on how much it actually cost the province to split Alberta Health Services into four agencies will be disclosed in July’s annual report. Over the next three years, $150,000 will be spent on modernizing the primary care system. In an effort to increase the number of surgeries over the next three years by 50,000, $525 million has been added to expand the use of chartered surgical facilities and optimize existing hospital operating room infrastructure. The province is forecasting a $9.4-billion deficit for 2026-27, an increase from last year’s deficit of $5.2 billion. Projected deficits for 2027-28 and 2028-29 are $7.6 billion and $6.9 billion, respectively. Finance Minister Nate Horner said this year’s finances reflect global uncertainty, rising costs and the province’s staggering population growth. “Budget 2026 focuses on what we can control: limiting spending increases and setting clear priorities so taxpayer dollars are spent wisely,” said the minister at a press conference Thursday. “That means investing in our health-care system to meet the needs of a growing and aging population.” In recent months, Alberta’s health-care system has been under pressure with emergency rooms overflowing, hospitals over capacity and hours-long wait times. Horner said the deficit reflects Alberta’s commitment to providing “top quality” services like health care and education. “We won’t sacrifice our public services to make our deficit disappear, and we aren’t raising personal income tax,” said Horner. Advocates not impressed “This budget is all about catch-up, but not real movement forward,” said Sandra Azocar, president of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE). Azocar said the province needs 15,000 more continuing care beds by 2030, and this budget only covers about 2,000. “We all recognize that we are living in real uncertain times … but budgets are about choices and making sure we address some of the long-standing issues that have been plaguing our province,” said the union president. Official Opposition leader Naheed Nenshi said fewer health-care dollars are reaching the front lines year-over year. “There are now 11 new organizations what just one AHS (Alberta Health Services) used to do before,” said Nenshi after the budget was tabled. “They have their own management structures, they have their own CEOs.” He said the province has spent over $30 million in severance packages in the restructuring of the health-care system. Friends of Medicare say they were hoping for a more promising budget. “Budget 2026 continues to roll out the government’s expensive and chaotic restructuring of public health care in Alberta, while doubling-down on their failing privatization schemes and pushing forward with plans for two tier health care in Alberta,” said a statement from the advocacy group.
