Critics say the Alberta government’s proposed health-care and education spending in its new budget won’t address long-standing problems in either sector.
“Public education, once again, with this budget … is not a priority with this government,” said Alberta Teachers’ Association president Jason Schilling.
“This government should be ashamed of themselves for, once again, short-changing the students of this province.”
Alberta’s 2025-26 budget, tabled Thursday by Finance Minister Nate Horner, pledges just under $10 billion for K-12 education operating costs — a 4.5 per cent increase compared to last year’s budget.
The government’s own legislation limits annual spending increases to a rate of population growth plus inflation, which was set at 7.3 per cent for the purposes of Thursday’s budget.
The budget predicts the province will find itself $5.2 billion in the red by the end of the fiscal year, with multibillion-dollar deficits expected for the two years afterwards as well.
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