Red Deer Mayor and District Chamber react to Alberta budget

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For Red Deer, the budget includes an increase to its capital funding through the Local Government Fiscal Framework (LGFF), bringing it to $15.3 million from $13.2 million.

“I really considered it quite a vote of confidence in the city and a vote of confidence in central Alberta,” commented Mayor Ken Johnston.

LGFF operating funding was $1.389 million for the city last year, but it hasn’t yet seen what its portion of this year’s allocation will be; Johnston doesn’t expect to see an increase or decrease in this, although he doesn’t have the number just yet.

Grants in Place of Taxes (GIPOT) did see an increase of 25 per cent, however, bringing Red Deer’s funding up to $5 million from $4 million. This is set to increase again next year to $6 million, which Johnston said will restore it to the level they received before the program saw a significant cut in the 2019-20 budget.

This funding is intended to support the operation of provincial buildings located within the city, including courthouses, the hospital, and advanced care centres, to name a few.

“I credit the province with recognizing that the reduction they made in these grants back in 2019-20 didn’t recognize the work that the municipalities still had to do around provincial buildings,” said Johnston. He added this is good news for the next sitting council, as they will have more to work with when they plan Budget 2026.

He was also happy to see continued support from the province in infrastructure projects he said will “transform” Red Deer’s economy, such as:

$129 million for the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre redevelopment
$9 million for the hospital’s interim cardiac catheterization lab
$50 million to twin Highway 11 from Red Deer to Rocky Mountain House
$4 million to the Red Deer Regional Airport’s expansion project
$2 million to the Red Deer Justice Centre

“The province is certainly recognizing the economic future and the health future of the area,” Johnston commented on the investments. “That certainly makes me very optimistic, certainly gives me a sense that the province recognizes our contribution to the province’s health.”

On the twinning project specifically, he added that Highway 11 has plenty of opportunities for municipal and/or tourism growth in communities like Sylvan Lake, Rocky Mountain House and Eckville, not to mention supply chain benefits.

“When you’re improving supply chains, you are diminishing the impact of tariffs,” Johnston commented on the twinning project. “You’re allowing for greater choice, for speedier access to goods and markets, so the twinning of Highway 11 is a major investment in the province’s future.”

Scott Robinson, Red Deer and District Chamber CEO, added that these projects will hopefully have a positive impact on the city’s unemployment rate as well.

Related: Red Deer’s employment up in January, but unemployment one of highest in Canada

One concern arising from the budget, noted in a statement by Alberta Municipalities, is an increase to provincial property taxes for education funding, a move it expects to have a negative impact on homeowners and businesses.

Mayor Johnston said that he was not surprised to see that particular increase, as population growth has put significant strain on the education system in recent years, including in Red Deer.

“No one wants to encounter a higher amount on their tax bill, but if we’re going to be a strong province, there’s no better investment in our future than education,” he said.

Robinson said the tax increase was “a bit disappointing” to see, especially when one considers the cumulative impact with the municipality’s 10.5 per cent increase announced in November.

Ultimately, one of the bigger misses in the budget for Robinson was a lack increase in the base funding for post-secondary institutions.

For Red Deer Polytechnic (RDP), this is its seventh year of flat or reduced base funding, it said. This challenge was compounded by federal changes to international student policies, resulting in the institution running a $10 million deficit for the 2025-26 school year.

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“While we are disappointed to be facing our seventh straight year of flat or reduced base operating grant funding, we are pleased to see continued targeted investment in high demand programs. Red Deer Polytechnic applauds the government’s plan to advocate to the federal government for more control over economic immigration, including efforts to find immigration pathways for skilled tradespeople,” the institution commented.

Robinson said RDP has a primary role in developing the future workforce, especially in trades, which Alberta always needs.

“We have a skills trades deficit in our province. We have a lot of opportunity for trades workers, etc., and we need our post secondaries to have the right mix of programs to meet that demand. That will be something we’ll certainly be advocating for going forward,” he said.

Overall, Robinson said the decisions made in the budget weren’t too surprising given the economic uncertainty we are positioned within now, and expects the province is trying to navigate that as best they can.

“I think the province did a very considerate, very careful, very realistic approach to what might be the economic reality in this country,” commented Johnston on the overall document.

Next year, Robinson hopes to see the province prioritize a balanced budget again by relying less on oil royalties and cutting spending in non-core areas.

by Ashley Lavallee-Koenig

Red Deer Mayor and District Chamber react to Alberta budget

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