On Thursday, February 27, 2020, Finance Minister Travis Toews
delivered his second budget entitled “A Plan for Jobs and the
Economy” which includes the government’s fiscal and
capital plans and the outlook for the province’s economy.
Similar to Budget 2019, the new budget draws heavily on a
government-established panel to study approaches for addressing
Alberta’s budgetary deficits. The panel, led by former
Saskatchewan finance minister, Janice MacKinnon, produced a report
providing direction on policy, cuts and adjusted budgetary
priorities. Budget 2020 remains closely aligned with Budget 2019,
adopting much of the MacKinnon report by mandating cuts, holding
the line on broad spending restraint and creating more detailed
plans to both grow the economy and find efficiencies on slim
budgets.