Alberta ends 2022-23 fiscal year with $11.6 billion surplus

The Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund grew by $2.5 billion to $21.2 billion. The government said growing the fund benefits current and future generations of Albertans by ensuring the province is well equipped to handle future uncertainty. In March 2023, the province enacted legislative changes to ensure the fund continues to grow. Officials said the changes allow the government to retain all investment income within the Heritage Fund instead of it being transferred to general revenue.

Nate Horner, President of the Treasury Board and Minister of Finance said, “We promised to keep our economy moving forward and Alberta is reaping the benefits.”

Horner added, “Albertans can rest easy knowing that Alberta’s prosperity today means more sustainability tomorrow as we continue to pay down debt and save for the future.”

REVENUE

The province’s report stated that revenue in 2022-23 was $76.1 billion, which is $13.5 billion more than estimated in Budget 2022. Revenue included:

$25.2 billion in non-renewable resource revenue
$26.5 billion in tax revenue, which included:
- $8.2 billion in corporate income tax
- $13.9 billion in personal income tax

EXPENSE

Expense in 2022-23 was listed at $64.5 billion, which is $2.4 billion more than estimated in Budget 2022. Expenses included:

$25.2 billion in health expense to expand capacity and for higher costs in response to the province’s evolving health care needs
Investments of $8.9 billion and $6.1 billion in K-12 and post-secondary education, respectively, which the province said helped to provide quality learning for students

The province noted that some of the factors that led to the overall increase from Budget 2022 included:

A $2.2 billion increase in operating expense, primarily for health, increased compensation costs from settled agreements, electricity rebates and other affordability measures, and the cost of selling oil
A $300 million increase in COVID-19 recovery costs
A $167 million increase in debt servicing costs, mainly due to the impact of higher interest rates

AFFORDABILITY

The province said in response to rising costs of living, the government introduced various affordability measures in 2022-23 to help slow inflation and make life more affordable for Albertans. In 2022-23, the Alberta Government provided $2.9 billion in affordability supports. These included:

$1.1 billion for the fuel tax relief program, funded through a reduction in revenue
$304 million for indexation of the personal income tax system to inflation retroactive to the 2022 tax year, funded through a reduction in revenue
$644 million for electricity rebates
$441 million for affordability payments to eligible seniors, families with children and vulnerable Albertans on core benefits programs
$51 million for indexation of benefit payments to inflation (Alberta Seniors Benefit, Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped, Income Support, Persons with Developmental Disabilities)

The province added that to help further reduce the cost burden on Albertans, the government recently extended the pause on the collection of the provincial fuel tax.

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by Justin Goulet

Alberta ends 2022-23 fiscal year with $11.6 billion surplus

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