On February 18, Finance and Treasury Board Minister John Lohr tabled Budget 2025-26: Unlocking Our Potential. Summary/Political Context On Tuesday, John Lohr tabled his first budget as finance minister — and his party’s first since winning last November’s election —projecting revenues of $16.5 billion, expenses of $17.6 billion and a deficit of $698 million. As...Read More
A Supermajority – The Progressive Conservatives Increase Their Vote and Seat Count November 26, 2024 IntroductionThe results are in! The Progressive Conservatives (PC) won re-election with 43 seats (up from 34 at dissolution) and managed to capture a massive 52.8% of the popular vote. The New Democratic Party (NDP) won nine seats becoming the Official...Read More
October 31, 2024 On October 28, the Saskatchewan Party (SP) won their fifth straight majority government. Not since the days of Tommy Douglas and the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (which governed from 1944 to 1964) has a single party won five elections in a row. The SP won the race with 34 seats (and a popular...Read More
October 22, 2024New Brunswick (NB) likes change – since 2006 it has alternated between the NB Liberals and NB Progressive Conservatives (PCs) with Premiers only being able to serve one term. While Premier Blain Higgs broke this pattern and served two terms, last night he lost his seat and the election to the Liberals. Among...Read More
October 20, 2024 The results are in and the only thing it tells us for certain is the British Columbia (BC) NDP are no longer in the majority. In fact, at the time this document was written, both the BC NDP and BC Conservatives are in a dead heat when it comes to elected seats....Read More
As we face the challenges of climate change, economic fluctuations, and global market dynamics, Alberta is stepping up with a series of innovative programs and funding opportunities designed to bolster resilience and productivity in the agricultural sector. The release of the Budget 2024 showcases a recognition of these important challenges and a commitment towards solutions....Read More
Yesterday the Ontario Government released its 2024 Budget. Summary/Political ContextOntario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy tabled his fourth budget today which includes $214 billion in spending, and a deficit of $9.8 billion – more than 3 times larger than last year’s deficit at $3 billion. Inflation, low GDP growth (estimated to be 0.3% in 2024) and...Read More
Yesterday the Alberta Government released its 2024 Budget. Summary/Political Context Alberta Finance Minister Nate Horner tabled his first budget, which includes more than $70 billion in spending and a surplus of $367 million. Restraint and austerity are the key words that define this budget. Premier Danielle Smith’s goal of keeping spending increases below 6.2% (this...Read More
Albertans may not realize it, but we make significant investments in higher education for the future success of this province. For every full-time domestic student enrolled in a program at a college or university in Alberta, the province gives institutions ~$16,000. While this may sound significant, Alberta ranks second-to-last in GDP-ratio spending amongst Canadian provinces....Read More
With the 2023 election ballots all re-counted and official results posted, Premier Danielle Smith announced and swore in her cabinet today, at an 11 am session. As Diplomat had predicted, through our support channels, the size of the cabinet is smaller than previous but remains substantial. With a smaller pool of MLAs to select from,...Read More
