Western Standard - Premier Smith addresses the Calgary business leaders

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00:24:30.000 Well, thank you so much for that very kind introduction, Jamie, and I would like to congratulate you and all of Walmart Canada for yesterday's amazing announcement, which you described so well of your new fulfillment center in Rocky View County.

00:24:47.060 It's always great to see global companies like Walmart choosing to invest here and create jobs and opportunities and make our community stronger.

00:24:55.120 I'm so pleased to hear that you see a very long and prosperous future with us working together.

00:25:00.080 And thanks to Deb Yedlin for the great leadership that you have shown at the chamber.

00:25:04.480 We had a wonderful roundtable discussion this morning.

00:25:06.740 We've got another roundtable discussion that is going to happen later on this afternoon.

00:25:11.260 And so I'm looking forward to getting feedback.

00:25:13.700 I also know every time I address a Calgary room that only 48% of you likely voted for me.

00:25:19.840 So I'll try not to be very partisan in what I'm putting forward today and just talk about the opportunity and the shared values that we have and the shared goal that we have of making Calgary one of the absolute best places in the country to live and work and raise a family.

00:25:36.460 And of course, I just want to thank the Calgary Chamber for inviting me to join you today,

00:25:40.940 because I always appreciate the opportunity for a discussion on growing our economy that

00:25:44.700 comes from an understanding that private enterprise fuels that growth. And that's one

00:25:48.940 of the main reasons why I respect the Chamber's contributions to Calgary's business community.

00:25:53.740 So I want to jump straight to the concern that is at the front of mind for many people here,

00:25:58.460 and that is, what does the recent election mean for Calgary? And for the answer, you only have

00:26:03.260 to look at the cabinet table and the message that it sends. The government has a fantastic

00:26:08.700 team of people across the board. There are several of the ministers that Deb introduced earlier.

00:26:13.420 Let me tell you what you have in Calgary. We have nine ministers representing Calgary. We have our

00:26:18.780 Deputy Premier and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services. That's Mike Ellis.

00:26:23.820 With us today we have Matt Jones. He's Minister of Jobs, Economy and Trade.

00:26:27.500 We have Mickey Amory, who is our Minister of Justice, Rebecca Schultz, our Minister of Environment and

00:26:33.260 Protected Areas, Rick McIver, Minister of Municipal Affairs, he's here today as well.

00:26:37.820 Mohamed Yassin is Minister of Immigration and Multiculturalism, Demetrios Nicolaides, Minister

00:26:43.500 of Education, and Rajan Sani, Minister of Advanced Education, as well as Tanya Furr, who's Minister

00:26:50.780 of Arts, Culture and Status of Women. And of course, Nathan Newdorf is here today as well,

00:26:54.700 whose utilities and affordability and Nate Horner who had a major announcement today on our annual

00:27:00.380 report he's our minister of finance and treasury board not to speak to that in a few minutes

00:27:04.620 so calgary is strongly represented at the cabinet table because this city's interests are front and

00:27:09.660 center in our government's plans as as is our dedication to pro-growth low tax free market

00:27:15.100 policies that continue to ensure that calgary is a magnet for investment from around the world

00:27:21.500 And we're seeing that investment in more areas than ever before.

00:27:24.800 We already mentioned, of course, Walmart Canada's grand opening yesterday in Rocky County.

00:27:31.340 But you do know as well about Haviland's investment in Wheatland County.

00:27:35.140 And WestJet is making Calgary its hub for travel.

00:27:38.560 Venture capital investment is pouring into the city as our tech and innovation sector continues to grow.

00:27:44.540 And I understand Calgary itself recently cracked the top 100 in startup genomes,

00:27:49.780 global startup system report calgary-based companies are growing and major international

00:27:55.300 companies are choosing to expand right here people are moving here in record numbers all

00:28:00.420 while the city continues to be one of the most powerful drivers of canada's economy my promise

00:28:05.460 to you is that over the next four years we will do everything we can to build on calgary's strengths

00:28:10.420 and you'll see this where some of the support will be when we announce our ministers mandates

00:28:15.220 that will be coming up in the coming weeks but there are infrastructure improvements that we've

00:28:19.780 already been clear on uh first of all of course we signed a memorandum of understanding with the

00:28:24.980 city and calgary exhibition and stampede and the calgary sports and enter uh entertainment group

00:28:30.020 to contribute to contribute up to 300 million dollars mostly over the next three years to

00:28:35.700 revitalize the rivers district of course they'll they'll be building an arena in there too but the

00:28:43.460 things that we're going to be investing in are the major infrastructure costs that go in to cover

00:28:48.260 the cost of roads and bridges lrt connections and other infrastructure work such as a 6th street

00:28:53.300 south east underpass and upgrades to 15th 17th and 25th avenues south and east plus also community

00:28:59.540 gathering areas i had a chance recently to go to toronto i was just telling my table and i thought

00:29:04.340 well why don't i go the slow way i took the edmonton to toronto via rail line the canadian

00:29:10.020 and i got to stop in winnipeg and if you haven't been there it's just such a wonderful walk around

00:29:15.380 community in the forks district which had the stadium for baseball as the anchor to be able

00:29:20.820 to build that community out when i walk around that or when i walk around rogers place or when i

00:29:25.060 have gone down to the to watch a golden knights game that's what i'm really hoping the vision for

00:29:29.220 this this area is going to be with a lot of community gathering places lots of place places

00:29:34.660 for outdoor patios and restaurants and retail, new residential, new hotels. I am so excited about it.

00:29:41.220 But as part of the agreement as well, we'll partner with the city to build a thousand-seat

00:29:45.380 community arena for kids hockey right next to the new arena and sports center. And these critical

00:29:51.380 infrastructure improvements will not only rejuvenate downtown and some of Calgary's most

00:29:56.100 visible landmarks, but also create jobs, lead to billions of dollars in economic activity and

00:30:02.340 contribute to the fabric and spirit of the city and that's been our overriding goal from the start

00:30:07.620 growing our economy so there are more jobs for Albertans and that's why we also reduce taxes and

00:30:13.060 cut red tape and let the rest of the world know that Alberta is calling for people who want the 0.95

00:30:18.340 opportunity that a strong Alberta economy brings and to that between January and March almost 16,000

00:30:26.820 Canadians chose to make Alberta their home it's our seventh straight quarter of net inter-provincial

00:30:32.100 growth. They were joined by almost 36,000 people who moved here from around the world.

00:30:38.040 We are on track for the fastest population growth since 1914, according to economist Trevor Toome.

00:30:46.140 The best and brightest are choosing Alberta. Businesses from all over the world are choosing

00:30:50.860 Alberta. Families, job creators, entrepreneurs, employers, and business owners know that low

00:30:55.520 taxes, good jobs, a skilled workforce and high wages matter and that economic diversification

00:31:02.360 we've been talking about for decades is actually happening.

00:31:05.620 This morning you may have seen our year-end fiscal update.

00:31:09.220 We committed to moving the economy forward and we're reaping the benefits.

00:31:13.040 We ended the fiscal year with an $11.6 billion surplus which exceeded the budget 2022 projection

00:31:19.340 by $11.1 billion.

00:31:21.400 In 2022-23, Alberta paid down $13.3 billion in debt, which eliminated $260 million in annual debt servicing charges.

00:31:30.280 That's money that will stay in our province and be available for us to be able to support programs.

00:31:34.860 And because we invested further in the Heritage Savings Trust Fund and kept investment income within the fund,

00:31:41.460 its market value grew by $2.5 billion to help secure the province's future.

00:31:46.240 Lower debt servicing costs and higher revenues are going to help support high-quality health care and education.

00:31:51.400 and job training, infrastructure investments

00:31:53.600 and assistance for our vulnerable

00:31:55.880 Albertans who most need it.

00:31:58.000 Let's talk about

00:32:00.300 higher revenues for just a minute.

00:32:01.880 The high price of oil played a strong role

00:32:03.820 in ensuring we ended the fiscal year

00:32:05.620 on solid footing.

00:32:06.940 But it's not the whole story.

00:32:08.480 In our first term, we reduced

00:32:10.400 the corporate income tax from 12%

00:32:12.820 to 8%.

00:32:13.800 We did that to encourage investment

00:32:15.580 and diversification and it's working.

00:32:17.860 We brought in a record

00:32:19.820 8.2 billion dollars in corporate income tax revenue in 2022-2023. The highest amount in a

00:32:27.440 single year. Well, I should be thanking all of you for all of that, so thank you. There are a number

00:32:34.040 of different factors that come into play in corporate income tax revenue, but the baseline

00:32:38.240 is this. Pro-growth, low-tax, free market policies are important. They matter. It is no accident that

00:32:44.040 investors are choosing Alberta, and we will keep that welcome mat rolled out. Obviously, Alberta has

00:32:49.760 a lot going for it and our government is making the most of favorable conditions by creating the

00:32:55.060 most business friendly environment in Canada. That starts with our low tax environment continues

00:32:59.720 with our focus on red tape reduction so Alberta's job creators like you can do what you do best and

00:33:04.380 we want to ensure that you are able to succeed. We want to be able to continue to create jobs and

00:33:09.220 build the economy. We're committed to ensuring that Alberta remains the economic engine of Canada

00:33:14.220 and Calgary is a critical part of that. We have a lot going for us and I'm excited about the future

00:33:19.440 of calgary and the future of alberta and i'm excited to continue to partner with all of you

00:33:24.160 to continue building a strong future for every alberta family a strong future that uh strong

00:33:30.000 calgary building on our strengths and finding new opportunities to expand and to and to succeed and

00:33:36.000 i'm looking forward to continuing this conversation with deb yetlin here in just a few minutes so

00:33:41.040 So thank you and we'll continue the conversation

00:33:43.220 in just a few minutes.

00:33:44.520 The current Lethbridge feed grain prices read as follows, cash for barley is at $415, feed

00:34:13.760 wheat's at $4.10 and corn is down $8 at $3.95 per metric ton. In the milling wheat markets,

00:34:20.740 September Minneapolis futures increased $7.25 at $8.25 with local hard red spring bids for July

00:34:27.120 movement at $10.50 per bushel. In the oil seeds, nearby canola futures gained $8.50 at $7.09 per

00:34:36.020 ton with delivered values for July movement at $16.30 per bushel. In the pulses, nearby red

00:34:42.720 lentils are trading at 33 cents a pound and yellow peas remain at 11.25 per bushel. In the cattle

00:34:48.680 markets, August live cattle lost 10 cents at $1.7377 per 100 weight. For more information,

00:34:56.560 call me at 403-394-1711. I'm Sean Smith of Marketplace Commodities, accurate real-time

00:35:02.900 marketing information and pricing options. Canadian Shooting Sports Association, without

00:35:07.680 CSSA, our gun rights would have been taken long, long ago. These guys are on the front lines,

00:35:13.760 helping to draft smart and intelligent firearms regulations and legislation in Canada,

00:35:19.680 and more importantly, educating the public about how we keep guns out of the hands of

00:35:24.000 the wrong people to become a member. It's absolutely worth every penny.

00:35:27.760 Good morning everyone. I'm pleased to present Alberta's results for the fiscal year end

00:35:44.340 ending March 31st, 2023. Our fiscal update today is a positive one. It is an indication of the

00:35:51.780 progress we've made in securing Alberta's finances. I'm happy to tell you that for the

00:35:57.080 second consecutive year, we balanced the budget and are reporting a surplus. But first, I want

00:36:02.580 to provide a bit of context. The numbers I will discuss today are for the 2022-2023 fiscal year.

00:36:10.180 Over that time, we saw some of the most extreme energy market volatility, along with geopolitical

00:36:16.580 events that created global instability and uncertainty. The war in Ukraine added to supply

00:36:22.300 pressures and in June 2022, oil prices spiked, reaching over $120 US per barrel, eventually

00:36:30.440 averaging $89.69 over the course of the fiscal year. That's $19.69 higher than our budget

00:36:39.240 2022 projection of 70 us dollars per barrel all of this impacted alberta by increasing revenue

00:36:47.080 but also reminded us of the need to build long-term sustainability so our finances can be less

00:36:52.680 sensitive to changes in circumstances beyond our control and so future generations can prosper

00:36:59.960 this year's results position us to allocate sizable amounts of money towards paying down

00:37:05.160 debt and building savings for the future while continuing to support the needs of today moving

00:37:11.080 on to the numbers which provide some perspective on what truly was a remarkable year for our province

00:37:17.720 over the fiscal year we brought in 76.1 billion dollars in revenue an expense for the year was

00:37:24.520 64 and a half billion dollars which means we ended the year with an 11.6 billion dollar surplus

00:37:31.640 11.1 billion dollars more than we estimated in budget 2022 and 1.2 billion dollars more than

00:37:38.920 our updated projections in the third quarter as you might recall we recently legislated a

00:37:45.080 new fiscal framework that outlines how government is to use any surplus from the budget while that

00:37:51.480 only recently came into effect and will first apply to the current fiscal year our priorities

00:37:57.240 remain the same our improved situation as of last year is allowing us to pay down substantial

00:38:03.560 amounts of debt reducing the burden on future generations and is ensuring more money can be

00:38:09.640 put toward vital programs and services in the years and decades ahead paying down debt also

00:38:16.280 helps reduce our debt servicing costs which for 2022 2023 alone were 2.8 billion dollars

00:38:24.040 we continued to put money in the alberta heritage savings trust fund which i'll speak about further

00:38:29.240 in a moment record levels of revenue due to higher oil prices and this government's solid

00:38:34.840 fiscal management have brought our finances back into the black after years of deficits

00:38:40.600 which is why we're able to take these important measures while still increasing our capacity

00:38:45.480 to support albertans and their evolving needs when we look back over the past fiscal year

00:38:51.800 there are several key factors that contributed to our record high revenue and which set the

00:38:57.240 stage for the largest surplus in the province's history our revenue intake of 76.1 billion dollars

00:39:03.800 was 13.5 billion dollars higher than we estimated in budget 2022. the key drivers were high non-renewable

00:39:11.800 resource revenue of 25.2 billion dollars and 26 and a half billion dollars in tax revenue the

00:39:19.320 latter point is important considering we achieved it while successfully lowering the cost of living

00:39:24.440 and doing business in our province on top of eliminating the provincial fuel tax for a large

00:39:29.960 part of the year we also indexed personal income tax to match inflation allowing albertans to keep

00:39:36.680 more of their hard-earned dollars in their pockets neither of these programs incurred any expense and

00:39:42.280 both were reflected as a reduction in revenue importantly we also brought in 8.2 billion dollars

00:39:49.160 in corporate income tax revenue that's the highest amount of corporate income tax revenue this

00:39:54.040 province has ever generated in a single fiscal year in addition to the impact of higher oil prices

00:40:00.840 this is a testament to our low tax business friendly environment which is encouraging

00:40:05.720 investment and diversification and creating new jobs by the thousands it's important to note

00:40:11.880 that we generated our record amount of corporate income tax revenue with the lowest corporate

00:40:16.600 income tax rate in the country 30 percent lower than the next lowest province while there are

00:40:22.600 several factors that impact cit revenue this demonstrates that lower taxes mean more economic

00:40:28.840 activity and it speaks to the importance of maintaining a low tax environment we intend

00:40:34.840 to secure alberta's significant tax advantage through legislation this fall and we'll provide

00:40:40.040 further details on that initiative in the coming months in the meantime we made a record

00:40:45.400 investment in alberta's health system in 2022 2023 expanding access with additional icu beds

00:40:52.520 and increased care for mental health and addiction we invested in every stage of learning ensuring

00:40:58.440 quality k-12 education for our youth and building on our world-class post-secondary environment

00:41:04.600 we also made sure albertans were able to benefit from the province's improved fiscal situation

00:41:09.400 through the electricity rebate the fuel tax relief programs and relief payments along with

00:41:15.720 other initiatives that lessen the financial burden on albertans during a time of high inflation

00:41:21.400 we spent 5.6 billion dollars on our capital plan in 22 23 helping to support economic growth and

00:41:28.200 development albertas provincial highway networks make it possible to officially move goods and

00:41:34.520 people throughout the province not only does our capital plan fund the maintenance of this

00:41:39.560 critical infrastructure it creates good jobs that attract skilled workers to our vibrant communities

00:41:45.240 and to support those people and communities our capital plan funds of the building and

00:41:49.640 upgrading of schools hospitals and other facilities essential to albertans quality of life

00:41:56.040 while we recognize alberta's fiscal strength now it's important that we prepare for potential

00:42:01.000 uncertainty in the future building the alberta heritage savings trust fund is one way we're doing

00:42:06.600 just that and i'm pleased to report that the heritage fund continues to grow in 2223 the

00:42:12.920 heritage fund grew by 2.5 billion dollars from the previous year attaining a market value of 21.2

00:42:19.560 billion dollars at the end of the fiscal year the year over year change was primarily due to actions

00:42:25.480 taken by the alberta government first we took steps to amend the alberta heritage savings trust

00:42:30.680 fund act passed by the legislative assembly earlier this year these changes allow all investment

00:42:36.840 income generated by the fund to be retained within the fund instead of being transferred

00:42:41.240 to general revenue as a result 1.25 billion dollars of investment income from the 21 22 year

00:42:49.000 was retained within the fund along with our additional deposit of 753 million dollars

00:42:56.120 simply put the heritage fund is alberta's long-term savings account and we're committed

00:43:00.280 to growing it for the benefit of all albertans as we mark these positive results today we do so

00:43:06.840 with cautious optimism as we acquaint ourselves with some of the new realities in our province

00:43:11.880 and in our world while today our focus is on looking back it's important to acknowledge that

00:43:17.000 these results position alberta for an inc for increased prosperity and opportunity moving

00:43:22.040 forward rest assured that alberta's government will remain committed to fiscal discipline

00:43:27.240 as mandated through our new fiscal framework we'll do so while ensuring albertans continue

00:43:33.000 to pay the lowest overall taxes in the country and while retaining our position as the engine

00:43:38.680 of growth for canada and building on a reputation as one of the most business friendly jurisdictions

00:43:44.280 in all of north america we'll also continue to make sure albertans have access to the

00:43:49.320 sports they need when and where they need them in closing today's results show one of the most

00:43:55.080 positive fiscal years in our province's history thanks to this government sound fiscal oversight

00:44:00.520 and ability to responsibly manage historically high revenues alberta's finances are back to being

00:44:06.600 in surplus our economy is continuing to diversify as we outpace our provincial counterparts in

00:44:13.240 everything from job growth to inter-provincial migration banks forecasters and economists are

00:44:19.320 predicting alberta will lead the nation in economic growth over the next two years our

00:44:24.760 own budget 2023 forecast shows the same we know there are risks in the economy high interest rates

00:44:31.400 high inflation and global geopolitical uncertainty among them but there is much to be optimistic about

00:44:37.560 in our province and today's results speak to that and they affirm that our commitment to strong

00:44:42.600 fiscal management is working so thank you very much and i'd now be happy to take any questions

00:44:48.120 so we'll now move on to the q a portion so we'll do one question one follow-up um we'll start in

00:44:53.480 the room there's a mic to your left there and then we'll go to those on the phone before you begin

00:45:00.680 just please identify yourself and your outlet with that we'll go to the first question here kelly

00:45:06.360 kelly criderman globe and mail i'm wondering i know this is a look back at the last fiscal year

00:45:10.760 but we have wti at under 70 a barrel right now are you worried about volatility in this current

00:45:19.480 fiscal year and are you worried that our budgeting system you know needs to smooth out some of those

00:45:25.080 uh what is in a really chaotic energy market this year and last year uh great question i don't think

00:45:32.040 you can have this job and not worry about things like the price of oil as my deputy minister said

00:45:37.480 she wakes up in the middle of night and looks at it some days but i would say that we uh we're

00:45:43.240 we're confident in in our plan in the fiscal framework moving forward that we have a plan to

00:45:51.000 increase our our expenditures in an appropriate way way with cpi plus population growth and that

00:45:57.800 we can manage manage our our uh non-renewable revenue in the best way that we can and that's

00:46:04.040 that's through accurate forecasting and which you will see in the first quarter fiscal report

00:46:09.480 uh it it may it may have to come down but i would say we had a strong handoff uh in in a lot of our

00:46:17.640 tax revenue which you'll have to wait till the end of august to see but we're we're not as we're not

00:46:22.840 as worried as uh as you may think and there's a lot of sensitivities beyond just the price of wti

00:46:29.400 there's obviously the rate of the currency uh where the differential sits uh the differential

00:46:35.800 for example has been very helpful to us in this first quarter which you will see uh at the end of

00:46:40.360 august your predecessor travis taves promised for a lot of his tenure to take a look at the revenue

00:46:50.040 side of things as well you talk about sustainability is that something that you will be looking at as

00:46:55.240 finance minister i know in conversations with minister taves i know it was one of his uh

00:47:00.680 main regrets that he wasn't able to um to move on a full revenue review uh that being said i've been

00:47:08.920 here a few weeks and haven't even received my mandate letter so it's probably a conversation

00:47:13.160 that uh need to have with the the premier first but i think it's a sound idea and a great

00:47:17.480 conversation that albertans should be a part of hi minister elise von scheele with cbc you mentioned

00:47:23.400 that influx of migration to alberta how do you see that changing the fiscal picture over the next

00:47:28.120 year because as we know they come and they pay taxes but they also need more services sure no

00:47:35.160 a great question elise i think it'll there's definitely a balance there we'll see it in our

00:47:39.800 in our personal income tax revenues we also expect that we will we will feel it in the services

00:47:45.560 required throughout this fiscal year and those into the future but also it's important to

00:47:52.360 understand that that is answering one of the main needs of the provinces the province has right now

00:47:57.320 which is labor so there's there's some good and some bad um but if you're going to be a low tax

00:48:03.400 province you have to be a pro-growth province so we're gonna we're gonna deal with it as it as it

00:48:07.720 comes in answer to kelly's question you said maybe the province isn't as worried as we might think

00:48:12.920 about the price of oil it was all over the map last year you know the the 11 billion dollar

00:48:19.080 increase over what we expected to see maybe compared to the last budget in royalties uh

00:48:24.280 is hardly a rounding error it's it's a pretty big um difference so why aren't you worried especially

00:48:30.360 given policies we might see from the federal government and the things we might expect from

00:48:34.920 the markets in the next couple years i guess i would say just to clarify i'm always worried

00:48:39.560 like wake up in the middle of the night worried just like my deputy minister but i would just say

00:48:43.640 that the the forecasted price that's over the course of the fiscal year so we're only in the

00:48:48.280 the very early days, the end of the first quarter, and a lot of the optimism was always

00:48:54.340 built into the back half of the year around the price of oil, and that optimism still exists.

00:48:59.940 So while it may look daunting right now, we're trying to be patient, and I hope all

00:49:06.260 of Albertans can be patient for the first quarter fiscal update.

00:49:10.240 Hi there, Michael King, Global News.

00:49:12.120 When expenditures are tied to CPI and to inflation there's still concerns among some industries, especially when we're talking education, that Alberta will continue to lag behind when it comes to per capita spending.

00:49:25.780 They need that kind of one-time top-up to get up to Canadian averages.

00:49:29.080 What sort of flexibility will there be to enable those spending top-ups to try and match with provincial averages?

00:49:36.080 well i would say that something that's important to understand um in the fiscal framework is that

00:49:42.960 that um that rule the cpi plus population growth um growth ceiling it does it does adjust every

00:49:51.520 year but that's for our spending as a whole so individual ministries that have more pressure

00:49:56.880 may spend more than others but that's something we'll have to average out as as we sit around

00:50:02.080 treasury board and look at where the pressures are coming from can you just elaborate a little

00:50:06.960 bit more when you look at you say you're worried about the price of oil and there's an important

00:50:11.120 need to go through and diversify what sort of plans are we expecting in the next in the next year here

00:50:16.560 well i think you'd see it's happening sometimes it's hard to tell because the the the numbers

00:50:23.120 from oil and gas are so significant but you're seeing right now the most diversified economy

00:50:27.840 It is happening in tech, agri-food

00:50:29.880 investment, film and television.

00:50:31.880 It is happening and those things will

00:50:33.880 continue to pass dividends into the

00:50:35.880 future.

00:50:36.880 With that, we will go to the phones.

00:50:38.880 Operator puts you the first caller.

00:50:40.880 David Staples, Edmonton Journal.

00:50:42.880 Hi, Minister.

00:50:44.880 We are seeing very high levels of immigration

00:50:46.880 and migration to Alberta.

00:50:48.880 What is the potential for the

00:50:50.880 future?

00:50:51.880 We are seeing very high levels of

00:50:53.880 immigration and migration to Alberta.

00:50:55.840 to Alberta, what are the pros and the cons in terms of the Alberta economy for this kind of

00:51:03.280 movement to the province? Thank you, David. There's definitely some pros and cons. Overall,

00:51:09.680 we're very pleased to see it. But I would say that it will put pressure on our services and our

00:51:15.360 expenditure side going forward. But it is answering one of the main needs of Alberta today,

00:51:22.240 and that is the labour market. Everything from housing to other pieces of construction you would

00:51:29.440 see in this annual report we weren't able to complete all of the capital spend as we would

00:51:37.600 have hoped. Some of that is the capacity of the labour market so this population surge hopefully

00:51:43.440 is part of an answer to that but it also will definitely serve us well on the personal income

00:51:49.120 But it does come with spending pressures for

00:51:51.060 sure.

00:51:52.060 Did you have a follow-up, David?

00:51:54.300 Yes.

00:51:55.620 In the United States we see a trend where

00:51:58.100 people are leaving democratic

00:52:00.000 states for republican states where the

00:52:02.240 economy is freer and they are more able to

00:52:04.240 conduct business.

00:52:05.540 Do you think the same dynamic, are we seeing

00:52:08.080 the same dynamic here in Canada?

00:52:10.080 Alberta being in the place of the

00:52:12.120 republican states where we are

00:52:14.120 able to conduct business.

00:52:15.520 Do you think the same dynamic, are we seeing

00:52:17.640 Republican states where the rules

00:52:19.620 are more friendly to business?

00:52:22.520 Well, I would say

00:52:23.420 maybe leaving partisan politics out of it,

00:52:25.800 I would say Alberta

00:52:27.720 is proud to be a pro-growth

00:52:30.120 jurisdiction.

00:52:31.480 And if you're going to be a low-tax jurisdiction

00:52:33.660 and remind you that

00:52:35.720 we're the lowest

00:52:37.980 tax jurisdiction other than six

00:52:40.020 states in all of North America,

00:52:42.560 you have to be

00:52:44.060 have a pro-growth mindset.

00:52:45.580 So I hope that those people come here to seek that opportunity that they're not finding elsewhere.

00:52:52.100 And, you know, through their efforts and labour, you know, we're going to see a growth in every sector of our economy.

00:53:00.660 And that's what we're shooting for.

00:53:03.080 Great. Operator, can you put through the next caller?

00:53:07.420 Catherine Scalzi, operator today.

00:53:09.240 I hear you saying that the overall budget will be capped at CPI plus population growth but I also hear you're talking about growing the tax advantage as you mentioned oil revenues are well the price of oil is dropping so what's going to give here are you going to need to cut somewhere I just don't know

00:53:39.240 I don't understand the math on that.

00:53:41.980 Well, once again, today is about the annual report,

00:53:45.420 the year that ended March 31, 2023.

00:53:48.340 And you're going to have to be patient.

00:53:50.420 I know it's tough, but we'll have more to say

00:53:53.480 at the end of August with the first quarter fiscal report.

00:53:56.700 But like I said, it's not just the price of oil.

00:53:59.360 There's many sensitivity factors

00:54:01.520 that can make a big difference with that number.

00:54:05.260 And like I said, there's been a strong handoff

00:54:08.100 on all the other parts of the economy.

00:54:10.840 So I know it's tough, but please be patient with me.

00:54:14.780 I'm trying to.

00:54:16.180 Any other follow-up, Catherine?

00:54:18.580 Yeah, so when you're talking about

00:54:21.140 reducing that reliance on sensitive revenues

00:54:24.620 that are beyond your control,

00:54:26.280 we're also hearing from the premier

00:54:28.360 that the oil and gas industry will not be phased out.

00:54:31.360 So what is the long-term plan here?

00:54:34.220 You had mentioned tech, agri-food, other sectors.

00:54:36.660 But what is the long-term plan if we're not phasing out oil and gas?

00:54:41.860 We're definitely not phasing out oil and gas.

00:54:45.860 And I think even if you read articles out as recent as today,

00:54:50.800 even moving towards a carbon neutral 2050 economy

00:54:55.920 doesn't mean to phase out of oil and gas.

00:54:58.540 And I think Alberta's well position will be producing

00:55:01.180 right to the end of oil's useful life.

00:55:06.100 will be one of the last jurisdictions producing that last barrel and just because demand is

00:55:11.560 potentially less that doesn't mean price will necessarily be lower either so there's lots of

00:55:17.160 things to consider as we move forward but the best part about being a low tax pro-growth jurisdiction

00:55:23.400 is you don't need to pick winners and losers we have very few instances where we have specific

00:55:29.040 specific tax credits to target a specific type of growth we brought one out last year

00:55:36.240 for agri-food value-added investment that's an area that's you know highly highly sought after

00:55:42.640 by neighboring jurisdictions we have the film and television tax credit which has done some

00:55:47.680 amazing things for the province and builds on a lot of our natural strengths and we have

00:55:52.400 the alberta petrochemical incentive program which is uh provides so much benefit especially when you

00:56:00.080 work in the royalty side but also playing to our strengths a lot of the growth in the industrial

00:56:04.640 heartland is due to it so we're going to stay a low tax broad broad based economy and alberta is

00:56:12.800 going to grow in in all of these sectors as it already is great operator can you put through the

00:56:18.400 I'm going to go back to the next caller.

00:56:20.760 Graham Thompson, Ms. Dhar.

00:56:23.140 Thank you.

00:56:24.700 Just to confirm something

00:56:27.700 and make sure it's clear,

00:56:29.980 as Kelly pointed out,

00:56:31.980 I know you're talking about the last fiscal year

00:56:34.820 but you have mentioned looking ahead

00:56:37.360 you're not as worried as we may think you are

00:56:40.760 but looking at something you talked about

00:56:43.460 if the price of oil is $10 below the projected price

00:56:46.700 price for this current year.

00:56:49.240 You think that can be counterbalanced by the

00:56:52.240 exchange rate between us and the U.S.

00:56:55.080 dollar.

00:56:56.280 Even if we're getting less money from oil than

00:56:58.820 anticipated, we'll make that up because of the

00:57:01.280 exchange rate.

00:57:02.720 There's a few factors in there,

00:57:04.880 Graham.

00:57:05.880 The exchange rate is one.

00:57:07.320 The other is the forecasted differential.

00:57:09.760 But that's very volatile as well.

00:57:12.520 The differential was at about $11 yesterday and

00:57:15.300 it's about about 14 today uh but for every for every dollar you're out over the course of the

00:57:21.300 year on the differential that means that means 600 million dollars to the fisk much like um

00:57:28.580 every every dollar of wti you're out means 630 million every cent you're out on the exchange

00:57:34.100 rate means 490 million um so that's that's the magnitude of these sensitivities and the

00:57:40.420 the differential while we've been below on wti the differentials been in our favor for a lot

00:57:45.220 of this first quarter but again I have to ask everyone to be patient and wait for the first

00:57:53.220 quarter fiscal at the end of August.

00:57:55.220 Graham, a quick follow-up.

00:57:57.220 Okay, quick follow-up.

00:57:59.220 Just wondering on this idea of a review of revenue, that's something you mentioned today

00:58:05.220 and of course Travis talked about that in the past, would that review include everything,

00:58:11.220 all revenues, including taxes and potentially a provincial sales tax?

00:58:16.780 Like I said, I haven't even received my mandate letter, Graham.

00:58:19.900 All I know is that I have had conversations with Minister Taves, and it was one of his regrets.

00:58:25.300 And I think it's always a sound conversation that we should be having with Albertans.

00:58:29.680 I think there's a lot of merit to it.

00:58:30.900 So what all it would entail, that will be a conversation for another day.

00:58:36.120 Operator, can you put through the next caller?

00:58:37.520 My question is on the fuel tax freeze.

00:58:49.240 The report says that it saved Albertans $850 million, but it cost the province $1.1 billion.

00:58:56.140 There's like a 250 mil gap between the benefits that it saves Albertans and the cost to the

00:59:03.280 province.

00:59:04.280 Where did this money go?

00:59:06.280 I think it's just a discrepancy in numbers, sir.

00:59:09.220 I can have the department answer that more fully, but there isn't the $300 million difference.

00:59:15.120 The entirety of the savings is passed on to the consumer.

00:59:20.280 Did you want to follow up?

00:59:23.280 Yep.

00:59:24.280 About oil price volatility, you talk about responsible fiscal management and working

00:59:30.280 on the revenue side, but do you commit in any way on not cutting spending?

00:59:35.280 Do I commit to any way in not cutting spending?

00:59:39.320 Like cutting spending in healthcare,

00:59:42.360 cutting spending in education to make the budget balance the next budget.

00:59:46.300 I would just say we're in very early days.

00:59:50.300 We haven't even finished the first quarter.

00:59:54.300 The first quarter is generally an anomaly.

00:59:57.300 That's what my department tells me.

01:00:00.300 We're going to walk towards this, not run and be patient.

01:00:03.300 and like i said a lot of that optimism is built in the back half of the year

01:00:07.620 but we have you know we have fiscal rules in place for a reason because we're we're serious about

01:00:13.700 them so i i think that's uh that's our pledge to albertans that we're we're serious because we know

01:00:19.460 our revenue side is so volatile we know that our spending side needs to be consistent and the the

01:00:25.860 growth that needs to be built within it needs to be very steady and very defensible with cpi plus

01:00:31.940 population growth great we have time for one more question i'll end in the room with kelly

01:00:37.460 okay you talked about the revenue side being so volatile but a key campaign promise from your

01:00:42.660 party is introducing legislation that would force a plebiscite if you want to increase taxes how

01:00:49.460 restrictive is that going to be for you and are you going to be in charge of introducing that

01:00:53.220 legislation uh the expectation is that uh yes i will introduce bill one um but i think it's once

01:01:00.820 Again, it's a pledge to Alberta and the province that we're serious about managing Alberta's

01:01:07.300 finances. That's why we brought in the fiscal rules. We didn't bring them in to handcuff some

01:01:14.260 future government. We brought them in to handcuff ourselves to show Albertans that we understand

01:01:21.460 we have a volatile revenue source and we need very thoughtful, defensible spending rules and guard

01:01:29.780 And, you know, you talk about Alberta's advantage and part of that Alberta advantage has

01:01:37.540 been affordable housing. We are seeing a severe erosion of that, especially in Calgary. Is that

01:01:43.540 something your government plans to address in any significant way? Well, I think housing is

01:01:50.820 a front of mind for many levels of government and I think you will see policies from our government

01:01:56.020 that looked to move the needle.

01:01:59.320 I would say, look, we had an Alberta's calling campaign.

01:02:02.100 We knew it was an advantage.

01:02:03.660 We also were very short of labor.

01:02:05.600 So we used those things to our advantage

01:02:07.640 to try to entice people to come and make life here in Alberta.

01:02:11.840 So everything has a balance and a cost and effect,

01:02:16.100 but I think overall it's a great, great news story.

01:02:20.040 And I'm happy that we are going to get to have conversations

01:02:24.140 and deal with all the problems associated with being a pro-growth province.

01:02:29.180 Great. Thanks, Minister.

01:02:30.100 I'll just ask a question about your family name.

01:02:32.160 Of course, you come from a very famous Western Canadian family

01:02:37.620 and you're becoming Finance Minister 10 years after your cousin was Finance Minister.

01:02:42.740 Your grandfather, your great-grandfather.

01:02:44.720 What are your reflections on that, on Horner continuing to be involved in Alberta politics?

01:02:50.680 well my dad would tell you i should have known enough to stay out of it

01:02:56.280 but i i'd say uh yeah i think it's a it's a noble endeavor and uh um you know if you if you look at

01:03:04.280 it that way i think you you want to try to do your best for your fellow albertans and uh that's that's

01:03:10.200 the way i was brought up so uh proud to be part of it and yeah cousin doug's um he's on speed dial

01:03:17.560 as is travis and shirley mcclellan so we have i have a lot of former finance ministers uh in my

01:03:23.400 phone that i can lean on if need be and yeah i just told doug i was going to do a better job so

01:03:29.000 he he snickered but uh no it's a it's a nice legacy i'm i'm proud to be part of it just

01:03:34.760 I just want to do a good job.

01:03:36.800 Great, that's all the time we have for today.

01:04:04.760 Good morning, everyone, and welcome.

01:04:15.280 My name is Nathan Newdorf, and I'm the Minister of Affordability and Utilities.

01:04:23.880 Canadian Shooting Sports Association.

01:04:26.060 Without the CSSA, our gun rights would have been taken long, long ago.

01:04:30.440 these guys are on the front lines helping to draft smart and intelligent firearms regulations and

01:04:36.760 legislation in canada and more importantly educating the public about how we keep guns

01:04:41.880 out of the hands of the wrong people to become a member it's absolutely worth every penny

01:05:00.440 You

Western Standard - June 30, 2023

Premier Smith addresses the Calgary business leaders

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