daveberta.ca - Alberta Politics and Elections

Tag: Justin Krikler

Darren Hedley appointed Deputy Minister of Finance ahead of Nate Horner’s budget speech

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date February 28, 2026

Orders-in-Council released on Wednesday afternoon show that Darren Hedley has been appointed as the Deputy Minister of Finance and Treasury Board. Hedley previously filled the position in an acting role under Deputy Minister of Executive Council Dale McFee and worked as Associate Deputy Minister in the department before that.

Hedley replaces Katherine White, who was late last year appointed as the Deputy Minister of the Department of Finance in the Yukon territorial government. She previously worked as Deputy Minister of Jobs, Economy, and Innovation and Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Tourism, and Trade, and also worked as the Chief Economist for the Alberta government.

Nate Horner’s big deficit budget — another year, another Alberta budget at the whim of oil and gas royalties

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date February 27, 2026

Alberta Minister of Finance Nate Horner in his pre-budget promotional video (source: Government of Alberta / YouTube)

There’s a baked-in analysis in every Alberta provincial budget that is impossible to ignore: Alberta relies too much on revenues from oil and gas royalties to fund the daily operations of government.

The other baked-in part of the analysis is what Albertans want: well-funded public services without having to pay more taxes for them.

From a first glance, it sure looks like that’s what Albertans got in Minister of Finance Nate Horner’s budget tabled today in the Legislature.

The budget doesn’t appear to include any big spending cuts, but it does include something Conservatives in this province used to like saying they wouldn’t do: run a deficit. This budget runs a big deficit of $9.4 billion and projects deficits for the next two budgets.

Read all about it on the Daveberta Substack

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Alberta Politics

Redrawing Alberta’s electoral map

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date May 22, 2025

Voters only getting 2 more MLAs despite huge population boom

Alberta will have a new electoral map when the next provincial election is called. An Electoral Boundaries Commission has been named and will begin travelling the province next week to collect feedback from Albertans about how new riding boundaries should be drawn to reflect population changes since the last time the map was redrawn in 2017.

Read more on the Daveberta Substack

Tags Adriana LaGrange, Alberta Electoral Boundaries Commission, Alberta NDP, Alberta Party, Alberta Politics Substack, Alberta Recovery Model, Alberta Separation Referendum, Alberta Separatism, Andrew Sheer, Bryce Stewart, Cameron Davies, Canada Election Substack, Corey Hogan, Cynthia Farmer, Dale McFee, Dallas Miller, Danielle Smith, Darby-rae Crouch, Daveberta Substack, David Eby, Dennis Cooley, Edmonton-Ellerslie, Edmonton-Ellerslie by-election, Edmonton-Strathcona, Edmonton-Strathcona by-election, Eleanor Olszewski, Enyinnah Okere, Fred Munn, Grant Hunter, Greg Clark, Gurtej Singh Brar, Jason Nixon, John Evans, Jonah Mozeson, Julian Martin, Justin Krikler, Mark Carney, Marshall Smith, Matt Jones, Mickey Amery, Naheed Nenshi, Naresh Bhardwaj, Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills, Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills by-election, Rae-Ann Lajeunesse, Recovery Alberta, Republican Party of Alberta, Rick Wilson, Samuel Petrov, Shane Getson, Sherri Wilson, Susan Samson, Tara Sawyer, Tim Uppal, United Conservative Party, Western Separation