Last Thursday’s provincial budget contained little that was new for the Grande Prairie region. Line items tagged for the South Peace were on health care and education.

Some $189 million over three years has been allocated to the Beaverlodge Hospital replacement, the Mountview Health Complex.

The province’s 2025 to 2028 business plan includes $43.8 million for the Physician Training Expansion Program in Grande Prairie and Lethbridge.

Grande Prairie MLA Nolan Dyck says he is excited about funding for Northwestern Polytechnic (NWP), which was allotted $1 million to expand skilled trades.

“It's a good indication that the government is willing to have a conversation about future trades planning,” he said. 

City of Grande Prairie Mayor Jackie Clayton spoke with the News before the budget announcement and indicated the need to expand the trades in the region. 

“We know that funding in northwestern Alberta is extremely important in order to see continued economic growth, something that I'm very interested to see funded, or at a minimum, announced, to see design and engineering work to get the project started, is the expansion of trades within NWP,” she said.

“We know that youth that train here more than likely stay here, so setting our youth up for a successful future and setting our region up for economic growth relies significantly on education and NWP being a leader in the trades and other education streams.”

Dyck also noted that the continued twining of Hwy. 40 south of the city is ongoing and in the budget with $4 million allocated to the project. 

He said the twining of Hwy. 40 could open up more tourism to the Grande Prairie region.

“I think the Grande Prairie area has done a good job of expanding our tourism value, and I look forward to seeing that continue.”

According to the province, Mountview is expected to receive capital funding of $8 million this year, $10 million in 2026, and $170 million in 2027.

Dyck said Mountview will be a great value for the region west of Grande Prairie. 

The News reached out to Grande Prairie-Wapiti MLA Ron Weibe for comment but did not receive a response before press time. 

The replacement for the hospital, a P3 partnership between the province, Town of Beaverlodge, and Landrex, has been previously reported to cost $170 million.

Clayton hoped to see the Maskwa Medical Center be a line item on the provincial budget.

It was not, but Dyck noted that operational funding will be coming for the Rural Medical Training Centre. 

“While it's not in the budget, that's going to be operational dollars for years, those are big dollars,” he said.

“We'll continue to see what gets announced, if there's any more announcements coming up,” said Dyck.

FCSS funding

Alberta Municipalities released a statement regarding the provincial budget, noting its concern over the stagnant funding for Family and Community Social Services (FCSS), which is $105 million this year.

“Considering the rapid population growth Alberta has experienced over the last few years, flat funding is equivalent to a reduction since more people are accessing the same services,” said ABmunis.

FCSS programming is meant to be funded by an 80 per cent contribution from the province and 20 per cent from the municipality but as Town & Country News previously reported, local municipalities invest more than 20 per cent.

County of Grande Prairie contributed $2.79 million (75 per cent of its FCSS operations) to its FCSS budget in 2023; the remaining $526,825 came from the province.

Tax break?

The province says residents can expect a new eight per cent personal tax bracket on income up to $60,000, down from the previous rate of 10 per cent. It says this will save up to $750 in 2025, while two-income families will see savings of up to $1,500. The province says most taxpayers will start to see the benefit of the tax cut on their paycheques after July 1, when payroll withholdings are adjusted.

Still, ABmunis says homeowners and businesses will see a “substantial increase” from the province in their provincial education property taxes.

According to Global News, UCP backbencher Scott Sinclair said he won’t support the budget, citing its projected multibillion-dollar deficits and money for big cities while the rural areas are left wanting.

Sinclair, who represents the rural constituency of Lesser Slave Lake, wrote on social media Saturday, “I don’t know who (the budget is) meant to serve, but it certainly isn’t for me, my family, my friends or my constituents.”

Christina Gray, Leader of the Official Opposition has also condemned the budget.

“We know this is a bad budget. Albertans know this is a bad budget. The UCP’s own caucus knows this is a bad budget,” said Gray.

“It’s unprecedented for a government MLA to criticize the budget their own colleagues have tabled. There’s chaos within the UCP and justifiably so.”

She said the budget “doesn’t provide the support that’s desperately needed in smaller communities and beyond.”