February 28, 2020

Alberta Budget Invests $19.3 Billion in Capital Projects Over Next Three Years with Emphasis on P3s

The Alberta government will invest $19.3 billion in infrastructure over the next three years, Finance Minister Travis Toews announced Thursday as he tabled the province’s $56.8-billion 2020 budget.

Provincial revenue is estimated at $50 billion this year, a billion less than previously estimated, with a muted outlook for oil prices. The province's deficit is estimated at $6.8 billion in 2020-21 but Toews noted Alberta is on track to balance its budget by 2022-23.

In addition to infrastructure, the budget focused on creating jobs, as well as stable funding for health care, education and social services.

This year, the budget noted, Alberta will introduce its new Infrastructure Act and has plans in place to partner with the private sector to deliver projects efficiently and effectively through P3s or other private-public arrangements. The types of projects currently under P3 consideration include schools, highways and hospitals.

Infrastructure highlights included:

Municipal Support

  • $5.6 billion to support a range of services and municipal infrastructure, including roads, sewers and public transit.
  • Total funding to municipalities, which includes both provincial and federal funding, is forecast to average $2.2 billion a year from 2020-21 through to 2022-23.

Capital Maintenance and Renewal (CMR)

  • 16 per cent of the total Capital Plan, representing a total of $2.7 billion.
  • As of Budget 2021, the government will centralize all CMR funds, and Treasury Board will determine ministry funding levels based on a government-wide needs assessment and prioritization process.

Health care

  • $2.5 billion dedicated over the next three years. Prioritizes ongoing capital projects like the state-of-the-art Calgary Cancer Centre, the Gene Zwozdesky Centre at Norwood in Edmonton and the Grande Prairie Regional Hospital.
  • Funding for the renovation of the Peter Lougheed Centre in Calgary, the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre Renewal Project and critical laboratory equipment needs in Edmonton and northern Alberta.
  • The government will also launch a new Rural Health Facilities Revitalization Program.

Roads and Bridges

  • $2.3 billion in projects such as the Edmonton and Calgary Ring Roads, Deerfoot Trail Upgrade in Calgary, Highway 19 and the Peace River Bridge.
  • Under A Blueprint for Jobs, the government is also taking steps to advance the development and construction of road and bridge capital projects that enhance the economic development potential of regions across the province.

Education

  • $1.5 billion towards new schools and modernization projects over the next three years. The plan supports the construction of nine previously announced new schools projects, as well as two new school modernization projects.

Family, Social Supports and Housing

  • $353 million over next three years for affordable housing and social supports. This investment builds 1,197 units for seniors, 1,117 non-seniors affordable housing units and 500 shelter spaces.
  • $7 million for the Red Deer Integrated Emergency Shelter. The new integrated emergency homeless shelter will expand to accommodate approximately 160 new shelter spaces.

Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

  • $15 million for the Bow Reservoir Options project, a four phase project to assess the feasibility of a multi-use dam on the Bow River upstream from Calgary

To read the full budget documents, please click here.