Alberta Budget 2026 : Health care budget balloons to record $34 . 4 billion

calgarysun.com · Feb 27, 2026 · Collected from GDELT

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Or sign-in if you have an account.Nate Horner, Alberta Minister of Finance takes media questions before delivering Budget 2026 at the Queen Elizabeth II building in Edmonton on Thursday, February 26, 2026. Photo by Shaughn Butts /PostmediaTucked into the record deficit and record $34.4-billion health budget numbers for 2026, it’s going to be a bumper couple of years for chartered surgical facilities, according to Budget 2026 unveiled by Finance Minister Nate Horner.Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account and fewer ads.Get exclusive access to the Calgary Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.Get exclusive access to the Calgary Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorHorner promised the facilities a half-billion dollars in surgical business with “funding to deliver 50,000 additional surgical procedures over the next three years by leveraging chartered surgical facilities to expand operating-room capacity and reduce surgical wait times.”Recommended VideosThe move is expected to unblock surgical bottlenecks and prioritize “those waiting longer than clinically recommended timelines,” Horner said in a plan delivered to mixed reaction in the Legislature on Thursday.Just which chartered surgical facilities get the work will be determined over the next few weeks.No funding for hospitals in Edmonton or Calgary: NDPGrowing demand from an aging population means five per cent increases this year and next, with about $300 million more for continuing care and alternative care expected to free up hospital beds, thereby reducing ER waits — a measure that’s already working, Horner said.“Since 2025, these efforts have reduced the number of patients in Alberta hospitals who do not need care delivered in hospitals by 20 per cent,” he wrote.The Official Opposition NDP reacted swiftly, saying the UCP’s budget fails to allocate immediate funding to urgent health-care priority areas.“There is no funding for a new hospital in Edmonton or Calgary … and there is virtually no increase to primary-care funding,” said leader Naheed Nenshi, pointing to fee hikes for seniors living in continuing care.“All of these rising costs are despite years of extraordinary resource revenues and record production,” said Court Ellingson, Alberta’s New Democrat shadow minister for finance.$2-billion for central umbrellaLook for funds from five different health ministries to cover the $2.3 billion cost of Health Shared Services (HSS), the single agency handling executive functions for the four separate ministries/agencies created in the last year by carving up Alberta’s health-care ministry.The new shared services organization is expected to bring together functions such as information technology, finance, human resources and other support services under one organization.Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns.By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of Calgary Sun Headline News will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again Alberta’s four new provincial health agencies: Primary Care Alberta, Acute Care Alberta, Recovery Alberta and Assisted Living Alberta.Primary and Preventative Health Services (PPHS) will provide $436 million in operating funding to HSS.“Primarily, the remainder of the operating funding comes from revenues from each of the other Provincial Health Agencies (Primary Care Alberta, Acute Care Alberta, Recovery Alberta and Assisted Living Alberta),” said an email from a government spokesperson.The HSS agency was announced in November “to make the health system more efficient and reduce duplication across agencies … and free up health agencies to focus on delivering care, improving coordination across the system and ensuring resources are used more effectively for Albertans,” Horner said in his plan.Overall, the budget declares health-sector spending in the coming year is expected to rise about $2 billion, to a record $34.4 billion.Almost $14 billion of that goes to the work of Acute Care Alberta for hospital and surgical health services, $12.6 billion for primary and preventive health services, $2 billion for mental health and addiction, and almost $6 billion for assisted living and social services.Within two years, the hospital/surgical health line item is expected to top $15 billion, “primarily due to Acute Care Alberta pressures, expansion of diagnostic and laboratory services, and work to speed up access to high-quality care,” Horner’s fiscal plan reads.Acute Care Alberta is the umbrella commissioning and contracting services for Alberta Health Services, Cancer Care Alberta, Emergency Health Services, and Give Life Alberta. They also contract the services of Covenant Health and chartered surgical facilities.“Cancer Care Alberta’s budget has been increased by $223 million over the next three years to expand the cancer care workforce and clinical capacity, improve and expand access to cancer care support services and increase spaces at the Cross Cancer Institute,” the release said.An additional $91 million is earmarked to increase emergency room and operating room capacity, increase anesthesia and surgery workforce, and free up spaces through alternate-level-of-care stays and increasing use of out-of-operating-room procedures.Primary and Preventative Health ServicesTotal operating expenses continue to climb for Primary and Preventative Health Services, topping out at a record $12.653 billion, almost half a billion more than 2025 — much of that attributable to physician compensation and development and expanding the role of nurse practitioners to improve access to health care for those without primary care providers.An additional $2.2 billion for drugs is attributed to rising drug costs, growing claim volumes, expanded pharmacy roles, and higher use among seniors, vulnerable Albertans and low-income households.Mental health and addictionBudget’s up almost nine per cent for Mental Health and Addiction, the $2-billion price tag largely due to the Compassionate Intervention Act and Acute Care Action Plan, and growth in services and the cost of operating recovery communities.Community Care and Treatment Services uses $823 million of that, with $33 million set aside for individuals deemed likely to harm themselves or others because of their addiction. It’s expected to reduce stress on the emergency system but to pop up an additional $59 million for Hospital and Continuing Care Services, “followed by gradual decreases in the following two years as compassionate intervention expands across the province.”Additionally, a quarter billion is earmarked for Continuum of Care — representing the biggest bump of $100 million.This includes prevention and early