File photo of Doug Schweitzer (Government of Alberta)

By Justin Goulet

Schweitzer talks Budget 2021, economic recovery and creating jobs for Albertans

Mar 1, 2021 | 11:15 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Alberta’s Minister of Jobs, Economy and Innovation believes the province can be well-positioned for a strong economic recovery from COVID-19.

Doug Schweitzer spoke with Lethbridge News Now following the unveiling of Budget 2021 last week.

READ MORE: 2021 Alberta budget revealed with “record” health spending, no new taxes

He said the budget ensures the province can “protect peoples’ lives and livelihoods”, with record spending in the health sector and a focus on economic recovery.

“On that side of it – making sure we invest in diversification, so everything from film and television to our emerging technology sector to building on our infrastructure and agriculture. We want to make sure we diversify Alberta’s economy,” Schweitzer told LNN.

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He said the UCP government has heard “loud and clear” from residents that they want to see the provincial government build on Alberta’s foundation.

“We have a world-class energy sector, we’ve got a world-class ag [agriculture] sector but we want to build on it for the future and we’re looking at lots of different innovative processes, from artificial intelligence to advanced manufacturing to enhanced irrigation projects in southern Alberta, so all of the above is there because we want to make sure we have a future for our young people in this province,” Schweitzer remarked.

RECOVERY

Schweitzer said Alberta’s recovery aims to make sure the province builds on a strong macro-foundation, which includes three main components. They include having the lowest taxes in the country, “so we accelerated out job creation tax cut”.

“[Second] having an efficient government, so getting our spending down so we can keep taxes low, but also making sure we reduce red tape on businesses – that friction that chases away jobs and opportunities, so we’re reducing red tape by a third,” he said.

“Also, a big focus on talent. You’ll see in our budget that we’ve announced, ‘Jobs Now’. You’ll see the details in the coming weeks. ‘Jobs Now’ is about making sure we help Albertans get those jobs of the future, we help with the training of Albertans in the next generation of jobs.”

JOB TRENDS

The minister said that back in January, the country lost 200,000 jobs but Alberta gained 20,000 jobs.

READ MORE: Economy lost 213,000 jobs in January, biggest decline since April: Statistics Canada

“I think it just goes to show that Alberta’s economy – even though we’ve had some challenges – is still resilient,” Schweitzer told LNN.

“We’re seeing some really interesting green shoots starting to come up, from agricultural technology and manufacturing to tech. There’s a whole bunch of spaces right now that are just growing leaps and bounds, year-over-year. So, even though we’ve had a pandemic, they’ve been hiring and growing during this pandemic.”

He added that 10,000 new businesses have started up in the middle of the pandemic across the province.

“Once the commodity prices appear to be stabilizing – so, oil process have been over 60-dollars [and] we’ve seen good prices on natural gas,” he said.

“If we can get that stability back into the traditional drivers of our economy, we’re also seeing these green shoots for that diversification we’ve all been wanting for a long time, and we want to make sure we have both of those thriving at the same time. If that happens, I think Alberta is well-positioned for a strong recovery.”

Schweitzer voiced an “immense amount of gratitude” to all Albertans and small business owners tackling the challenges of COVID-19. He said he knows it hasn’t been easy, but he appreciates everybody’s efforts in keeping their communities safe.

CUTS TO POST-SECONDARY INSTITUTIONS

In the budget, post-secondary institutions in Alberta saw a 6.2 per cent cut in operating support.

READ MORE: U of L, Lethbridge College react to Budget 2021, cuts in funding

“This is one of those challenges that we have right now. We have to be realistic in our budget processes as to what we can afford right now across Alberta. We’ve been an outlier for decades and for decades we’ve had it pretty good in this province, but the last four-five years have had a lot of ups and downs, but we spent a lot more than everyone else in this country,” Schweitzer said.

“We have to be innovative. There’s lots of technology that’s been brought on during the pandemic that we want to encourage to see used going forward; lots of different ways of being more streamlined but we have to make sure we live within our means.”

He noted that the province is working with post-secondary institutions to make sure they can continue to provide “world-class education” to young people across Alberta.