Understanding what the Alberta budget holds for Fort MacMurray is important moving forward. All Alberta residents will see an increase in certain taxes, and cost cutting and budget slashing has been a priority ever since the price of oil started to fall and revenues for Alberta shrank as a result. Last December Jim Prentice warned about a budget shortfall and told all of Alberta that everyone would have to sacrifice. Many took offense when Prentice made comments that seemed to blame ordinary citizens for the budget shortfall, citing government spending and poor financial management for the expected shortfall instead. The 2015 Alberta budget was recently released, and it outlined higher taxes for alcohol and cigarettes, an increase in certain fees for government services, levies on healthcare, and even higher fines for traffic violations.

When discussing the Alberta budget and Fort MacMurray Brian Jean, the Wildrose Party leader, released a statement which said “Albertans will be paying more for just about everything. And if the PCs mismanagement of the economy causes you to sell a home or refinance, you will pay in excess of $1000 more in land registration taxes. More taxes and no real cuts mean that our deficit will be the highest ever and our debt will be well over $31 billion before these PCs start to turn things around. In just a few short years the interest payments on our debt will be over $2 billion and will be the fourth biggest operational expense in government.” Fort McMurray-Conklin MLA Dom Scott stated “We are going to have to be innovative going forward with this economy, making sure we have the infrastructure we need, I believe the price of oil will rise. We will be ready to meet the demand and residents will have the quality of life they deserve. I’m feeling optimistic about the future of our region. We will be well positioned when oil comes back.”