EDMONTON — Alberta MLAs decisively voted to pass Budget 2026 on Friday, with support from an unlikely source, as the fiscal plan prepares to take effect on Wednesday. The UCP's proposed budget for the 2026/27 fiscal year, and the accompanying $9.4 billion projected deficit, passed the final legislative stage by a 43-19 vote.Of note from the process was independent MLA Scott Sinclair voting in favour of the plan after being kicked out of the UCP caucus for refusing to support Budget 2025. "I find most of it, at best, disappointing and, at worst, unacceptable for Albertans," wrote Sinclair on Facebook when opposing Budget 2025. "I don’t know who it’s meant to serve, but it certainly isn’t for me, my family, my friends, or my constituents. In fact, I’m furious at the amount of money being funnelled into Edmonton and Calgary — as usual — while northern Alberta and our riding are largely ignored.".Sinclair has been the MLA for Lesser Slave Lake since the 2023 election and has served as an independent member since March 2025. There was speculation that Sinclair would eventually join the Progressive Tory Party of Alberta after fellow UCP dissenter Peter Guthrie joined the party and was chosen as leader. Sinclair put those speculations to rest on March 7, when he publicly stated that he believes he can better represent his constituents by remaining independent. "Remaining independent allows me to speak plainly, advocate freely, and work constructively with anyone, regardless of political stripe, when it benefits our region," wrote Sinclair when making the announcement. .Many Albertans have expressed frustration that Budget 2026 projects a $9.4 billion deficit for the fiscal year, and the UCP has acknowledged that. The UCP have also said that, although they do not like running such a large deficit, the budget allocates funds in a way that allows them to meet Alberta's needs without drastically cutting vital social services. Their government has placed significant blame for the large deficit on poor federal immigration policies that overwhelmed Alberta's social services and exacerbated the effects of low oil prices. Because of this, they claim Budget 2026 prioritized "needs" over "wants." Key spending from the plan includes $34.4 billion split among Alberta's four health care ministries, and a record $10.8 billion for education, largely to build schools and address classroom complexity. .The Alberta NDP have criticized the budget, saying the deficit is unreasonably high and that funding fails to address Albertans' true needs. "I gotta tell you, something, we have never seen a budget before that spends so much and delivers so little," said Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi in a speech at the Alberta Municipalities 2026 Municipal Leaders’ Caucus on Thursday. "A $9.4 billion deficit, one of the largest deficits in Alberta history, at a time we have booming resource revenues." Budget 2026 completed its final stage in the assembly when it passed the vote on Thursday, meaning it will next get Royal Assent from Alberta's Lieutenant Governor, before taking full effect when the new fiscal year begins on Wednesday.
