Big spending, big deficit and fee hikes: Highlights from the Alberta budget

Finance Minister Nate Horner delivered the Alberta budget for 2026 on Thursday. The province will run a $9.4 billion deficit.

Alberta Finance Minister Nate Horner tabled the province’s latest budget on Thursday. Here are some of the highlights:

— The government expects to take in $74.6 billion while spending $83.9 billion (including $2 billion set aside as a contingency fund).

— It predicts a $9.4-billion deficit, the largest since the COVID-19 crisis when the budget came in nearly $17 billion in the red for 2020-2021.

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— This is the second deficit under Premier Danielle Smith, with a $7.6 billion deficit projected for 2027 and a $6.9 billion deficit for the year after that.

— Taxpayer supported debt is set to increase by nearly $17 billion, reaching almost $109 billion in 2026 and almost $138 billion by 2029.

— Spending on education and health care is boosted at rates higher than the rate of population plus inflation (pegged in the budget at 3.7 per cent).

— Big ticket spending on education at $10.8 billion (7.2 per cent more than last year) and health care at $34.4 billion (5.8 per cent more than 2025-2026).

— A tax is to be introduced in 2027 on personal rental vehicles. It’s to be set at six per cent of the price of the rental before other taxes are calculated. Long-term leases and non-passenger rentals, like moving trucks, are to be excluded.

— A mandatory tourism levy applied to hotel rooms and other short-term accommodations rises in April to six per cent from four per cent.

— Fees and penalties are going up for some driving offences, corporate registry filing and licensing, and registration for businesses and charities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 26, 2026.