Alberta Update: March 15, 2024
This Week New legislation: Outside of budget-related bills, new legislation introduced this week includes: Premier meets with Prime Minister: On Wednesday, Prime Minister Trudeau and Premier Smith met in Calgary. The meeting included a discussion on the impact of the federal carbon tax on inflation, affordability, and sustained higher interest rates. The Premier also reiterated Alberta’s commitment to carbon neutrality […]
Alberta Update: March 8, 2024
This Week Improving Alberta’s grid: As part of a larger effort to modernize the electricity system, a new act was proclaimed aiming to help the electricity system adapt to new technologies. The act allows businesses to build more energy storage and more on-site power generation with the option to sell excess power to the grid. It is part […]
Alberta Update: March 1, 2024
This Week Budget 2024: Yesterday, the Government of Alberta released its 2024 Budget. Under the title “A Responsible Plan for a Growing Province,” the budget from Alberta’s United Conservative is a balanced budget with a $367 million surplus and a focus on long-term stability. It includes key commitments in health and skills training. Our team at Wellington Advocacy has pulled together an […]
Alberta Update: February 16, 2024
This Week Alberta Pension Plan: Finance Minister Nate Horner released a statement updating Albertans on a potential provincial pension plan. Recently, the federal Liberal government informed the Government of Alberta that they would strike a panel to interpret the asset transfer formula in the Canada Pension Plan Act. The panel’s work would begin this spring and inform the chief actuary’s calculation […]
Alberta Update: February 9, 2024
This Week Alberta office in Ottawa: Premier Danielle Smith was in Ottawa earlier this week to officially open a new office aimed at raising Alberta’s priorities on the national stage. The office is led by James Carpenter whose primary role will be telling the Alberta story to politicians and national media in Ottawa. In connection with the office opening, the Premier […]
Alberta Update: February 2, 2024
This Week Supporting children and youth: Alberta’s government announced new policies regarding gender identity and the well-being of children. The cross-ministry policies aim to: Legislation for these changes is expected in the fall legislative session. Premier Danielle Smith’s announcement can be viewed here. Annual Red Tape Report Card: The Canadian Federation of Independent Business’s (CFIB) awarded Alberta an A for their efforts to […]
Alberta Update: January 26, 2024
This Week New Deputy Ministers: Premier Smith announced a small shuffle in the public service this week. Sherri Wilson was appointed Deputy Minister of Environment and Protected Areas, Katarzyna (Kasha) Piquette was appointed Associate Deputy Minister of Intergovernmental Relations, and David Skene was appointed Deputy Chief, Policy Coordination. Malcolm Lavoie was appointed Deputy Minister of Justice and Deputy […]
Alberta Update: January 12, 2024
This Week Promoting film and television in Los Angeles:Minister Fir travelled to Los Angeles to promote Alberta’s film and television industry. The trip included meetings with executives from HBO and other production organizations, and an event showcasing Alberta as a leading filming destination. The film and television industry in Alberta is at an all-time high, and […]
Alberta Update: December 15, 2023
This Week COP28 summit comes to a close: Premier Danielle Smith and Minister of Environment and Protected Areas Rebecca Schulz released a joint statement after attending the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (COP28) in Dubai. The statement highlighted Alberta’s success at COP28 in pushing back against the federal Liberal government’s proposal […]
Alberta Update: December 1, 2023
This Week Fiscal Update: Nate Horner, President of the Treasury Board and Minister of Finance, had good news in a mid-year fiscal update this week. Alberta’s UCP government is forecasting a $5.5 billion surplus for 2023-24, $3.2 billion higher than expected in Budget 2023 earlier this year. Among the reasons for the higher surplus are higher bitumen royalties and tax revenue […]