Easing energy projects, helping growing cities: Alberta lays out federal budget wish list

As Canadians prepare for a "generational" federal budget to be unveiled on Tuesday, leaders across Alberta consider what they hope to see in it.

Prime Minister Mark Carney promised to make "generational investments" in the country's economy and infrastructure. But he's noted Canadians should prepare for "challenges" and "sacrifices" stemming from the budget.

At Calgary city hall and the Alberta legislature, political leaders have put infrastructure funding near the top of their wish lists.

“We want to see continued investment in major transit infrastructure such as the Green Line,” said Jeromy Farkas, who was sworn in as Calgary's mayor last week.

Along with a greater focus on infrastructure funding for large cities, Farkas is also calling for support of public safety measures. The mayor said he'd like to see greater attention on sentencing and bail reforms, which were included in Ottawa's announced changes to the justice system last month.

Energy access for Alberta, housing investments and poverty reduction efforts are also issues Farkas said he's brought to his federal counterparts' attention.

Alberta’s finance minister Nate Horner also wants to see more infrastructure funding to help the province address its population growth. Horner pointed to pressure Alberta is feeling in its schools, as well as water and wastewater infrastructure, as areas where the federal government could help provinces.

“Every province is saying it," said Horner. 

“Everything costs more: water, wastewater. People are coming fast. This is where we wanted them to direct their priority of help.”

Other requests Alberta has for the federal budget: continued support for child care and help tackling rising health-care costs, said Horner.

He'd also like to see the feds scrap regulations that the province believes is making large projects more burdensome to complete.

Calgary Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Deborah Yedlin echoed the call to offer more certainty for businesses that are being “hamstrung” by regulatory delays. She argued federal rules like clean electricity regulations, the emissions cap on oil and gas producers, and anti-greenwashing legislation are compromising competitiveness.

“We want to see some more regulatory certainty for the energy sector. But the reality is we have a carbon price that no other oil-producing country has,” said Yedlin.

“We know that there is a relatively easy lever for the government to pull in order to stimulate economic growth and that is energy. That's a short-term win with long-term impact that will allow the government to continue to fund its budgetary commitments.”