Alberta budget shows 'same-old neglect' of Edmonton, says mayor

Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi says the Alberta government's budget released Thursday neglects the capital city. 

Only one of four items that Sohi requested of the province showed up in the provincial budget: $5 million for downtown revitalization. 

"That is completely unacceptable," Sohi said at a news conference Thursday. "Edmonton needs a fair deal. What we saw today was the same-old, same-old neglect for the capital city." 

The city had four requests related to permanent supportive housing, public transit, downtown revitalization and the bid to co-host the FIFA World Cup tournament in 2026.

Since he was elected mayor in October, Sohi has tried to mend fences with Premier Jason Kenney after a tense relationship between the UCP government and the previous city council.

"I have worked hard to ensure that this government understands that we are here as their partners, and in return, they gave us a slap in the face," Sohi said. 

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The four requests were the minimum the city needed to make the projects work and those had been whittled down from 12 requests he and council originally had in mind, he said.

They included $49.7 million to help build 552 permanent supportive housing units — one-third of the estimated total $149-million cost to build those apartments. 

Another ask was for $8.9 million a year to operate the housing projects with health-based services such as treatment for mental health and addictions.

Edmonton was asking for about $41 million to recoup revenue losses in public transit from low ridership during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sohi tweeted a response to the budget on Thursday evening. He said he is "incredibly frustrated to see that [Edmonton] was not fairly represented" in the budget.

'Bare minimum' 

Coun. Andrew Knack is also frustrated at the province for not following through with what he called the most basic requests.

"Those four asks were the bare minimum," Knack said. "This is what we need to be able to provide services to Edmontonians in a meaningful way."

Knack said the city was counting on the province to help run the city's new permanent supportive housing complexes, set to open at the end of the year.

"It continues to abandon the most vulnerable," Knack said of the budget. "Those folks experiencing homelessness right now are astonishingly still left out of the budget."

Knack said the city took a leap of faith in investing in the permanent supportive housing complexes, and noted that housing is the province's jurisdiction. 

Edmonton vs. Calgary

"The message that we got today was that Edmonton doesn't matter to them," Sohi said of Kenney's UCP government. 

The budget favours Calgary and the rest of the province, Sohi said.

He suggested politics are behind the decisions, and that places receiving the bulk of the funding are UCP strongholds. Alberta's next provincial election is scheduled to be held in the spring of 2023.

Calgary is getting money for several new projects, including $59 million over three years to expand the veterinary school at the University of Calgary.

There's also $41 million for the John Ware Building redevelopment project at SAIT, which will see a new centre of excellence for culinary arts. 

Finance Minister Travis Toews told CBC News that each ministry submits its priorities for capital spending before decisions are made.

"We, honestly, at Treasury Board, approve projects based on defensibility and based on need and their value for Alberta taxpayers," Toews said in response to Sohi's complaints.

Toews said the investment moves around the province. 

"We don't take so much a geographical lens to our capital projects," he said. "We need to ensure the province is providing sufficient, adequate and appropriate infrastructure in every region, including Edmonton."

'Talk to us'

Coun. Tim Cartmell said he hopes the city and the province can start collaborating and cooperating better on future projects. 

"I wish we had seen some of the things we asked for today, I really do," Cartmell said Thursday evening. 

The government didn't express support for the city's bid to co-host the 2026 FIFA World Cup tournament but Cartmell said he's hopeful it will.

"We didn't hear no," Cartmell said, noting that the city won't actually need money for the event for another two years or so.

The biggest disappointment, in Cartmell's view, was the lack of communication from the province to city council on what they could expect.

"Talk to us, just talk to us, so that we can plan ahead and plan together."

Sohi said he plans to double his efforts in the coming weeks to communicate the city's needs to Kenney's government. 

"We will not give up, we will continue to demand better," he said. "We will continue to demand a fair deal for our city from Alberta, from this government." 

@natashariebe