Alberta budget shows 'same-old neglect' of Edmonton, says mayor

Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi says the Alberta government's budget released Thursday neglects the capital city. 

Only one of four items that Sohi requested of the province showed up in the provincial budget: $5 million for downtown revitalization. 

"That is completely unacceptable," Sohi said at a news conference Thursday. "Edmonton needs a fair deal. What we saw today was the same-old, same-old neglect for the capital city." 

The city had four requests related to permanent supportive housing, public transit, downtown revitalization and the bid to co-host the FIFA World Cup tournament in 2026.

Since he was elected mayor in October, Sohi has tried to mend fences with Premier Jason Kenney after a tense relationship between the UCP government and the previous city council.

"I have worked hard to ensure that this government understands that we are here as their partners, and in return, they gave us a slap in the face," Sohi said. 

The four requests were the minimum the city needed to make the projects work and those had been whittled down from 12 requests he and council originally had in mind, he said.

They included $49.7 million to help build 552 permanent supportive housing units — one-third of the estimated total $149-million cost to build those apartments. 

Another ask was for $8.9 million a year to operate the housing projects with health-based services such as treatment for mental health and addictions.

Edmonton was asking for about $41 million to recoup revenue losses in public transit from low ridership during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sohi tweeted a response to the budget on Thursday evening. He said he is "incredibly frustrated to see that [Edmonton] was not fairly represented" in the budget.

Coun. Andrew Knack is also frustrated at the province for not following through with what he called the most basic requests.

"Those four asks were the bare minimum," Knack said. "This is what we need to be able to provide services to Edmontonians in a meaningful way."

Knack said the city was counting on the province to help run the city's new permanent supportive housing complexes, set to open at the end of the year.