City seeks ‘modest’ infrastructure, safety funding ahead of Alberta budget

Edmonton has submitted its budget wishlist to the province, and Mayor Andrew Knack says the list is modest and aligns with provincial priorities.

The City of Edmonton has asked for around $75 million in “very modest” funding from the province ahead of Budget 2026, Mayor Andrew Knack says.

Servicing industrial areas, building more addictions recovery housing, increasing transit security and maintaining infrastructure are at the top of the city’s priorities as the provincial government prepares to release its budget on Thursday.

In his letter addressed to Premier Danielle Smith and finance minister Nate Horner, Knack also advocates for the restoration of the Grants-in-Place-of-Taxes program, wherein the province would fully pay property taxes on government buildings in Edmonton.

He says the city is being mindful of the province’s projected multi-billion-dollar deficit.

“Let’s make sure we’re not seeing any major shifts in the other direction,” he said of his expectations for Thursday’s budget.

“It’s going to be modest, our approach, and a recognition (for the province), but also understanding that this can’t continue forever.”

Among Edmonton’s requests of the province is a $30-million fund for infrastructure in industrial areas to get them ready for development.

• Knack staying ‘realistic’ about Edmonton’s $1.5B infrastructure deficit ahead of provincial budget

Another $25 million in one-time funding would go toward transit system safety, not including additional requests for yearly increases to Edmonton’s allocation of body cameras for police officers.

The city is also asking for almost $6 million for a low-income transit pass program and $2 million for the expansion of the Jasper Place Wellness Centre’s healing houses, used for pre- and post-addictions treatment.

Knack believes each request aligns with provincial priorities while acknowledging a 66-per-cent decrease in infrastructure funding from consecutive provincial governments in the last decade.

“There’s no municipality that’s keeping up with the growth right now, and we know the province isn’t keeping up with the growth,” he said. “You can only kick the can down the road for so long. It’s been kicked down quite a few years.”

Municipalities brace for policing costs, infrastructure losses

Dylan Bressey, the president of Alberta Municipalities (ABmunis) and a councillor for Grande Prairie, echoed Knack’s urban concerns. His organization hopes to see investment into the infrastructure of towns, cities and villages throughout the province.

ABmunis represents 264 municipalities in Alberta.

“We do agree with the premier that two priorities are catching up with population growth and diversifying our economy, but we’re concerned the province might not understand that that requires local municipal infrastructure,” he said on Wednesday.

“You can’t build homes if you can’t flush toilets. You can’t build a new commercial shop if you don’t have a road to get the trucks into the yard.”

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ABmunis calculated that per-capita provincial funding is less than half of what it was 15 years ago.

Adding to infrastructure concerns, Bressey said, was a projected “massive” increase to policing costs in many towns and villages.

“That means that local taxpayers are going to have to pay more, and local infrastructure is going to suffer,” he explained.

In preparation for those increases, Bessey said many councils are adjusting service levels and looking for savings where they can.

“The conversation we’re trying to have is, what is the right tax mix in Alberta? We know there’s only one taxpayer, but why are we making decisions as a province that one taxpayer should pay more through property taxes increase or other forms of revenue the province could collect?”

The province is projecting a $6.5-billion deficit in Budget 2026, which is to be tabled Thursday morning.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Jeremy Thompson