The day after federal budgetProvincial and municipal leaders are trying to figure out what this means for hundreds of projects in Alberta.
The federal government is calling its spending plan a “generational investment” and the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce says it's on the right track.
“We're really encouraged by this budget. This budget really has a strong economic focus and I think one of the things we're seeing is a historic level of public investment,” said Heather Thomson with the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce.
Some of Ottawa's investments include $115 billion over five years in infrastructure and $25 billion in housing over five years.
The Chamber believes the budget can prepare both the country and Alberta for international trade with partners outside the United States. Thomson also says that despite significant investment, it could be decades before we see a return on it.
“The Edmonton economy and the Canadian economy as a whole are in need of significant investment, and this is also a great sign of confidence. Given the tariffs and a number of other economic events that have occurred over the past year, we are not seeing investment as much as we would like,” Thomson said.
Edmonton Mayor Andrew Knack believes the money could help the city adapt to its growing population. He notes that the Rapid Fire Theater and the Bissell Center received funding.
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Following Knack's recent conversation with Prime Minister Mark Carney, he said it was a positive sign.
“My feeling is that they want to be an active partner in this. Now as we move forward, as mayor, I get the opportunity to sit down, talk to the premier, start meeting with federal ministers and make sure Edmonton's needs are represented in all of their funding decisions,” Knack said.
But how soon the city will see that money is still in question. Under the new legislation, the province must sign any agreements municipalities enter into with the federal government.
“We need to actually see how it works to see if they've developed a process that will be streamlined and not hold us back. At the end of the day, we need immediate action on a number of these areas,” Knack said.
Alberta Municipal Affairs Minister Dan Williams says the legislation has not caused any delays at this time.
“As long as these projects align with the province's priorities and work in partnership with us, we want to make sure those dollars go to the core responsibilities of the municipalities. When they do, we will work with them,” Williams said.
In a statement, Premier Danielle Smith said the province is holding off on making decisions on the budget until it completes “sensitive” negotiations with Ottawa.
“We will then have a much better idea of whether the current federal government is serious about repealing or revising the various policies and laws that have devastated Alberta's economy over the last decade and threatened the very stability of Alberta's electricity grid,” Smith said.
As for Knack, he says he's willing to continue talking with all levels of government to ensure the plans go ahead.
“We know there is a lot of work to be done and we will do our best to try to accomplish everything we can,” he said.
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