Let's Talk About Infrastructure

Albertans rely on well-built and properly maintained infrastructure to succeed now and for the success of generations to come.
$100B
worth of infrastructure systems are managed by local governments in Alberta.
4.4%
is Alberta's estimated population increase for 2023.
$1B
per year in additional provincial funding is needed to meet current and future community infrastructure needs.

The Local Government Fiscal Framework (LGFF) funding pot is simply too small.

  • Provincial funding for local infrastructure has dropped from about $420 per Albertan in 2011 to about $150 per Albertan in 2023 – a DECREASE of about $270 per Albertan.
  • The provincial government’s spending on local infrastructure has dropped from 3.7% of total spending a decade ago to just 1% today.
  • What does this mean? This represents about $1.3 billion less investment in community infrastructure every year.
  • Your community can only grow if it has predictable funding for long-term investments in reliable infrastructure that meets the needs of your current and future residents. 
  • All orders of government are responsible for community wellbeing, which is why we are inviting the Government of Alberta to join with us in partnership to support growth, economic development, and better quality for life for all Albertans. 

We seldom think about the roads, bridges and pathways we travel on every day, or the water and wastewater systems that supply clean drinking water and manage our sewage. We only realize how much our communities rely on essential infrastructure when it either fails or needs to be repaired. Then, we realize how costly and disruptive it is to either replace or fix it. While no single level of government can fully fund all the infrastructure needed for Alberta to continue thriving and prospering, the provincial government can and should provide more funding. We appreciate that the Government of Alberta is planning to review provincial education property taxes with a view towards giving more funding to municipalities, however, such changes are probably years away. As things stand now, the Local Government Fiscal Framework (LGFF) simply won’t provide municipalities with enough funding to deliver on the provincial government’s ambitious claim – that Alberta is the best province in Canada in which to live, work, and raise a family.

We want Alberta to succeed as the province’s population expands, but it will take more funding for local infrastructure to do it.

To learn more, download our backgrounder.