Calgary Herald: Licia Corbella: 'Sometimes we just need to hear some good news. Alberta’s budget for 2022 provides lots of it, even if it means you have to plow through a bunch of numbers to find it.
'It also contains a warning. It displays the stark contrast between what Alberta would be facing today if we still had an NDP government as opposed to the UCP government.
'For the first time since 2014-15, Alberta’s budget is balanced, with a projected surplus of $511 million.
'Government revenues hit $61.7 billion, up $18 billion from what was budgeted — most of that ($10.4 billion) coming from oil and gas revenues, $3 billion in income taxes, $2.5 billion in investment income and $1.1 billion in federal transfers — showing that revenues were generally higher in all categories.
'When we recall that just two years ago the price of Alberta oil had plunged into negative territory, that’s a big turnaround, largely as a result of reopening worldwide economies following the loosening of COVID-19 restrictions and the resulting ballooning demand for energy.'