What the new provincial government budget means for Calgary

Alberta's UCP government has released its 2024 fiscal plan — so what does it mean for Calgary?

New funding for major municipal projects was announced on Thursday, including $7.8 million over the next three years for the Arts Commons and Olympic Plaza Transformation Project, plus $43.4 million over the next three years to extend the CTrain's Blue Line by one station to 88th Street N.E.

Tabled by Finance Minister Nate Horner, the Alberta government's 2024-25 fiscal plan also includes various other commitments for the city that had already been announced.

Namely, the province has pledged millions for Calgary's planned event centre, as well as initiatives like funding for police officers in the downtown core and a new facility for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

The province has already agreed to provide a total of $1.53 billion for the Green Line LRT project, which will run from Eau Claire downtown to Shepard station in the southeast. Construction on the Green Line is slated to start later this year, and is expected to take six years.

The 2024-25 fiscal plan allocates $207.9 million every year for the next three years, marking another revision to the provincial contribution, stretching funds further into the future and prolonging the project. 

"Calgary and Edmonton are globally recognized hubs of commerce, culture, education and innovation," reads the Alberta government's funding highlights. "Budget 2024's three-year Capital Plan supports their growth in a responsible and sustainable manner."

Yet even while the city will see some new money this year for capital projects, Mayor Jyoti Gondek says she's disappointed, calling the province's plan an "austerity" budget that doesn't meet the needs of Calgarians.

She said that while the budget includes capital to address Alberta's housing crisis, it's unclear where that money will be spent.

"We remain concerned that Alberta is calling but there's no place for people who are coming here to call home," Gondek said.

While the mayor called some portions of the budget good news, when it comes to the Blue Line LRT — an integral part of the city's plan to eventually link the CTrain network to the Calgary International Airport — she says it's still $10 million short of what the city wanted.

Gondek also said the province is raising how much education property taxes it will take from the city, which will further raise this year's property tax increase.

"With this budget I can now confirm for you that the province is in fact taking $96 million more than last year," she told reporters during a news conference following the budget's release. 

"That's a 12-per-cent increase, as opposed to holding the line, or letting us keep more property taxes here, as had been promised."