Judging by past performances, not rocking the boat is a difficult thing for Finance Minister Ron Liepert, who managed to table a budget yesterday that will rock Albertans to sleep before it rocks them into a riot. Reminding Albertans of just how good their forty-year government is, the Tories are subtly trying to convince Albertans not to do anything too drastic, like voting for another party in the upcoming election.
This puts Alberta’s opposition parties in a difficult position. NDP leader Brian Mason questioned the PCs optimistic projections about the next economic boom, saying that the 40-year governing party is “hiding a big deficit.” Liberal leader Raj Sherman, himself a former Tory MLA, called the budget dishonest and accused the Tories of making “unrealistically high revenue predictions.” Alberta Party leader Glenn Taylor accused the government of having neglected to listen to Albertans priorities in this budget.
Premier Alison Redford‘s pre-election budget is tailored to the moderate majority of Albertans, who, unlike the political class, will likely have a hard time getting angry about this budget. Keep Calm and Carry On Voting Tory.
9 replies on “alberta budget 2012: keep calm and carry on voting tory.”
Liepert’s promise to not raise taxes is perhaps true of the current budget year but not of future years. The opposition parties need to hammer him on this.
He actually mentioned that in the budget speech! I see that the budget forecast gas at a level much higher than the industry and getting more than 10 billion more in energy revenue. When have we ever done that? Also anyone note just how much came out of the sustainability fund – not for sustainability but to balance the budget. Next year something will have to go way up and the Heritage Fund be decimated to pull off this trick again. But one thing I can say she did say she was progressive conservative, with emphasis on the progressive – so did she keep her committment. I think so all the way to liberal side of the spectrum and maybe further.
No new taxes?
Look again.
$107 million increase to the education portion of your property taxes. An increase of almost 10%. Largest education tax bump since Getty.. remember him? Tried to cover up incompetence by spending money.
Beyond that – we have a budget premised upon a 9% increase in the economy that most say is completely unrealistic, and premised upon $99 oil – which is almost double the average price over the last decade, and $12 higher tha the 2011 average.
Smoke. Mirrors. And the Heritage Trust fund is reportedly going to decrease by $5 billion.
But – the good news is until the municipalities react to the tax grab by raising property taxes, again, most Albertans will keep drinking the kool-aid.. so, expect another PC Majority.
It’s hard to understand why Raj Sherman hasn’t snuck back into the PC caucus now that there is a bona fide Liberal Premier in charge.
This is an extreme right wing budget that belongs to the Wildrose. Keeping taxes this low is bad and a flat tax is ridiculous. and then allowing AISH people t earn money without clawback is abusive to taxpayers. And then continuing funding private schools. There is nothing reasonable about ths right wing government.
This blog seems seems to simply be a PC promo. No critical evaluation or insight (along with the obvious omissions, just ‘lets not rock the boat Alberta’.
Looks like the PC party is out of ideas and it is time for change.
Dave, this is a “Goldilocks” budget, trying to get it just right between not being too big and fueling the WR complaint about over spending and too small and fueling the Liberals/NDP/AP complaint about underspending on social services.
I’m baffled by the assumptions relating to resource revenue and worry about the deft use of the Sustainability Fund to smooth out the speed bumps on the way to a $5.19B surplus in 3 years.
Feels very much like a shrewd pre-election budget with the real budget to come after the PCs have been re-elected.
“This is an extreme right wing budget that belongs to the Wildrose.”
Excuse me but how did you make that jump? So where were the Wildrose while Liepert was delivering it? Where they under his chair? Behind him operating him like a hand puppet?
Your comment fell of the rails with that opening statement and continued in that direction from that point.
The sticker shock will come. Already oil is slipping back and the revenue from gas pegged at $3 when the industry just put it under 2.50 makes for the Allison in Wonderland.
We do not have a revenue problem – we do have a spending problem, I thought Albertans wanted to save money in Heritage Fund for their children and grandchildren. Well that is not happening! I guess we can chew up all the resources and let the kids make their own way – what a shame!
But do watch for the real tax increase and the real legislation and the real budget after election. Makes you want to have a drink – whoops may confiscate the rest of my property!@
this is the biggest Alberta con game played yet – the intention is not to get people on aish – the goal is to stress and cause them as much hardships that they will be dead way before being approved for aish. This is not an increase but more of an attempt to kill those who are in the biggest need – which by the way for the most part is caused by crime that is approved by our prime minister. I have yet to find doctors who are willing to even file the forms – and if you can they want to take months and months until you are next to dead from living on the streets, no food – good going prime minister – I’ve been the victim of more then one of your acceptable crimes you fail to mention in main stream media