Alberta 2022 Budget passed in the legislature

Carson was referring to the fact that some members of Kenney’s own party have been calling for his resignation.

The newest member of the UCP caucus, Brian Jean, who recently came into office via a by-election, has been an outspoken opponent of Jason Kenney ever since Kenney defeated him in the 2017 UCP leadership race.

This week, two additional UCP backbenchers joined the call for Kenney’s resignation, after changes were made to the voting process for next month’s UCP leadership review.

UCP MLAs Peter Guthrie and Jason Stephan say the party’s late changes were designed to ensure Kenney wins a vote that they say he was destined to lose.

The party changed the in-person leadership vote, which was scheduled to take place April 9, 2022, in Red Deer, to a mail-in ballot process instead.

The ongoing controversy sparked a heated debate about the budget in the legislature Thursday, with the NDP focused on questioning Kenney’s leadership, and the UCP focused on defending the budget.

“Don’t ever forget, we’re all here to represent the voices of all of our constituents. Do your constituents support this premier?” NDP MLA Carson continued, “Do they feel this premier should be allowed to lead this province? By standing and putting your name forward in favour of this vote, you are telling all of those people that you support the leadership as it currently stands.”

Finance Minister Travis Toews focused on defending his party’s 2022 budget during the house debate.

“We call it fiscal responsibility, so we’re not downloading irresponsible decisions on the next generation,” Toews said. “There is lots in this budget for Albertans, not only for this generation, but for the next as well.”

Meanwhile, NDP leader Rachel Notley was in Lethbridge Thursday, where she said, “There’s good reason to vote against the budget. We call it the ‘no-help budget’. It’s a budget that does nothing to protect Albertans from the affordability crisis that so many people are feeling.”

In Alberta’s 2022 budget, the province estimates the total revenue will be $62.6 billion in 2022-23, and total expenses are projected to be $62.1 billion. As a result, the government outlined a $500 million surplus for 2022-23.

The Alberta legislature eventually voted to pass the 2022 budget following the debate on Thursday. Premier Jason Kenney says it’s the first balanced provincial budget in eight years.

Click the links below to learn more about the Alberta 2022 Budget:

Alberta presents balanced budget for 2022

Lethbridge mayor says Alberta budget is good news for the city

Alberta commits $3.5 billion to healthcare in 2022 budget

Province says funding will enhance growth, parental choices in K-12 education

Lethbridge College and U of L lose millions in funding

The full breakdown of Alberta’s 2022 Budget can be found at alberta.ca/budget-highlights.

by LNN staff with files from The Canadian Press

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Alberta 2022 Budget passed in the legislature

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