Alberta Finance Minister Nate Horner speaks about the proposed 2026 provincial budget in Edmonton on Feb. 26, 2026. The Canadian Press/Jason Franson
Alberta’s new budget includes a $9.4 billion deficit, which the finance minister is blaming on the costs of a rising population coupled with low oil prices.
“This year will require tough choices. Some of them won’t be popular. But all of them will be necessary to face the challenges ahead,” Finance Minister Nate Horner told the legislative assembly in Edmonton on Feb. 26 as he tabled the 2026-2027 budget.
Horner added that “we’re not making massive program cuts and we’re not raising personal income taxes.”
While not asking for any increase of personal income tax rates, the budget does propose a number of fee hikes and increases to other taxes.
Fee and Tax Hikes
Fee hikes include higher penalties for some driving infractions, a fee increase for registry and corporate filing fees, and a bump in the province’s tourism levy on hotel rooms and short-term accommodations from 4 to 6 percent when the coming fiscal year begins this April.
In addition, the budget proposes a new 6 percent tax on personal vehicle rentals apart from long-term leases and commercial truck rentals to begin in 2027. The government is also changing the education property tax.
Alberta is Canada’s only province without a provincial sales tax, and Horner said earlier this week that although a 5 percent provincial sales tax could generate around $6 billion per year for the province, there is no referendum planned on introducing it for now.
“We’ve got to take Albertans with us on this ride,” he said ahead of the budget announcement on Feb. 26. “If Albertans want to give up some of that advantage to get off the roller-coaster, that’s a conversation we can have.”
In addition, the budget cuts the Film and Television Tax Credit operating allocation to $60 million for 2026-27, a $35 million reduction. This follows last year’s pledge by the province of $235 million over three years in the form of the tax credit in order to draw more major productions to complete film and television productions in the province.
NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi criticized the government for the size of the deficit, and said the budget doesn’t allocate enough funds for health and education while hiking fees and taxes.
“There is no funding for a new hospital in Edmonton or Calgary. There is no additional funding for building a single new school, and there is virtually no increase to primary care funding,” the NDP said in its reaction to the budget.
“Budget 2026 also makes life more expensive for Albertans amidst already rising costs. ”
Nenshi said the rising costs are coming “despite years of extraordinary resource revenues and record production.”
