Alberta Minute: Fiscal Surplus, Dental Care, and a Calgary Stampede BBQ

Alberta Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Alberta politics.

This Week In Alberta:

• Happy Canada Day - we hope you all have a wonderful day with friends and family! Our Summer Fundraiser is ongoing this week, and while we rarely make an explicit pitch for donations in these emails, summer is a challenging time for non-profits like ours. So, if you enjoy these weekly emails, and you’re able to help out, please click here to make a donation today.
  
  
• Albertans can enjoy the newly renovated reflecting pool and dome fountain at the Legislature grounds starting today. The pools, closed since 2020 due to aging infrastructure, have been upgraded to meet current building and health standards, including a reduced depth for wheelchair accessibility. The first phase of renovations preserved historical elements and saved costs by refurbishing old granite. A new water feature is planned for completion in 2025, the design of which was selected through a public survey.
  
  
• We’re hosting a Stampede Kickoff BBQ on Wednesday in Calgary, along with our friends at Common Sense Calgary, Project Confederation, and the Alberta Parents’ Union. We'll meet at Edworthy Park on Wednesday, July 3rd, from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm. Specifically, we will be at Picnic Site 9, which has plenty of room, BBQs, a fire pit, and is suitable for families, but also allows for the consumption of adult beverages! To keep costs down, so the event can be free, it will be BYOHBB (Bring Your Own Hot-Dogs, Burgers, and Beer), but we will be providing some snacks and non-alcoholic beverages. Plus, there was a venue rental fee, so if you have the capacity to chip in a small amount, $10 is a suggested donation. Please RSVP here. Hope to see you there!
  
  

Last Week In Alberta:

• Alberta reported a $4.3-billion surplus for the fiscal year ending in March, driven by nearly $75 billion in revenue. The Heritage Savings Trust Fund grew to nearly $23 billion, with debt servicing costs at $3 billion. Finance Minister Nate Horner highlighted credit-rating upgrades and emphasized the government's commitment to maintaining fiscal stability without increasing taxes.
  
  
• Premier Danielle Smith announced the Province's intention to opt out of the federal dental care plan (CDCP) by 2026. Smith argued that the CDCP duplicates existing provincial dental coverage and that expanding provincial programs would be more effective. The federal plan, part of a deal between the Liberal government and the NDP, aims to provide dental care for uninsured families earning under $90,000 annually. Smith proposed negotiating with the federal government to allocate Alberta's share of the funding to expand coverage for low-income residents. The usual suspects claimed opting-out would be impossible, but had no answer when it was pointed out that Quebec is also opting-out, and apparently no-one had any problem with Quebec doing so.
  
  
• The Province announced revised electricity market rules which they say will lower power prices and ensure reliability, while still allowing generators to earn a profit. The Market Power Mitigation Regulation and the Supply Cushion Regulation take effect today, July 1st. The rules are intended to be temporary, while Alberta modernizes its electricity system, and are set to expire in November 2027.

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