Post Event | A conversation with Hon. Nate Horner, Minister of Finance

On February 28, the Calgary Chamber of Commerce hosted the Hon. Nate Horner, Alberta’s President of Treasury Board and Minister of Finance for a keynote address and fireside chat with Calgary Chamber President & CEO, Deborah Yedlin. The discussion covered highlights of Budget 2025, including an overview of Alberta’s financial situation and the economic outlook for the next 12 months.

Minister Horner began his remarks by commenting on the vast uncertainty that our province is facing, including the economic impact of President Trump’s proposed tariffs on Canada and how this has factored into the creation of Budget 2025. The Minister’s address highlighted how the budget was designed to meet challenging and uncertain economic conditions resulting from international pressures, non-renewable resource revenue and population growth, justifying the decision to run a deficit through the next three budget years.

The Minister emphasized the government’s focus on meeting the needs of Albertans. This includes investments in K-12 education, infrastructure, housing, healthcare, and specific seat capacity expansions at post-secondaries to support Alberta’s rapidly growing population now and in the future. Minister Horner also discussed the need for spending on export development in specific sectors, and the increase of $2 billion to the contingency to offset impacts from potential tariffs on our exports. Lastly, Minister Horner noted that the long-awaited personal tax cut was announced in this budget, providing some tax relief to Albertans.

The fireside chat with Chamber President & CEO, Deborah Yedlin, covered various topics relevant to Alberta’s fiscal situation and economic outlook, including:

• Geopolitical pressures and how Albertans could expect the province to be impacted by tariffs from the United States 
• The timing of the personal tax cut and how it will impact the average Albertan 
• The extreme pressure that Alberta’s significant population growth has put on our public infrastructure 
• The investments that are being made to reorganize Alberta Health Services and launch new health agencies 
• The role of the conventional energy sector and emerging large-scale investments in data centres 

Minister Horner closed by emphasizing the importance of fiscal responsibility, having a plan to get back to balance, and investing in the future through the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund to dampen the impacts of future economic shocks.

Special thanks to our presenting sponsor, Cenovus Energy, our thanking sponsor, National Bank and our supporting sponsors, CPA Alberta, Enbridge, Intact Insurance, Pathways Alliance and WestJet, without whom this event would not have been possible.