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Alberta to introduce budget: Promising renewed fight on COVID-19, but more red ink

Stay-the-course budget promised
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Alberta Premier Jason Kenney speaks during a news conference in Edmonton on Feb. 24, 2020. It’s budget day in the province, and Kenney’s United Conservative government is promising more help in the fight against COVID, but more red ink on the bottom line. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

EDMONTON — It’s budget day in Alberta, and Premier Jason Kenney’s United Conservative government is promising more help in the fight against COVID-19, but more red ink on the bottom line.

Kenney says the budget will concentrate on getting Alberta past the pandemic and on rebuilding the economy that has seen businesses close and jobs lost during the health crisis.

Last year, after COVID-19 took hold, the government abandoned its plan to balance the books within its first term.

Kenney has promised a stay-the-course budget with no deep spending cuts or any tax increases.

He says that’s the prudent path forward for a fragile economy.

The Opposition NDP says it wants to see more spending to keep people safe during the pandemic, clear up a backlog of surgeries and provide more support to businesses.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 25, 2021.