Alberta Schools Update

Our government is getting the job done, and Albertans are seeing the results. Alberta is on track for a $2 billion surplus, a swing of more than $11 billion in a single quarter, driven by record investment, Canada-leading job growth, and an energy sector firing on all cylinders. The Heritage Savings Trust Fund keeps growing too, on pace to hit Premier Smith’s $35 billion target by the end of 2027. As Finance Minister Jason Nixon put it, Alberta has been given an opportunity and our government will not waste it. Read more.

Premier Smith joined Fox Business this week to make the case directly to American viewers for a tariff free relationship and for both federal governments to get back to the negotiating table. Her message was straightforward, that tariffs and counter-tariffs raise costs, disrupt supply chains, and squeeze workers and families on both sides of the border, while free trade with Canada adds millions of jobs to the American economy as their refineries and manufacturers turn our raw resources into higher value exports. It is a relationship worth building, not breaking. Watch here.

Education and Childcare Minister Demetrios Nicolaides shared great news as students headed back to class, with 2,127 new teachers and 1,044 new educational assistants hired for the new school year, many working on complexity teams that put hands-on support right where it is needed most. New rules also took effect this week keeping politics and ideology out of the classroom so students can focus on the fundamentals like reading, writing, and math. Read more.

Our government is getting the job done for Alberta students, backed by a record $10.8 billion in education funding this year, a 17 per cent increase to meet the needs of a fast-growing province. Since 2024, 173 school projects have been completed or are underway, with 74 of them accelerated to save as much as a full school year of construction time. Another 194 modular classrooms are opening about 5,900 more student spaces this fall. Read more.

A new Research Co. poll shows strong support for the immigration questions Albertans will vote on this October, with all five sitting around 60 per cent or higher. Two thirds of respondents back requiring proof of citizenship to vote in provincial elections, and 65 per cent support Alberta taking greater control over immigration to reduce numbers, prioritize economic migrants, and put Albertans first for jobs. Read more.

Premier Smith is aiming to turn Calgary into the Nashville of the North, travelling to Tennessee this week to meet with tourism and business leaders about how that city built a music industry now worth $28.3 billion. Calgary’s music scene brings in $2.3 billion today, and industry leaders say the pieces are already falling into place, with the BMO Centre revamp, Scotia Place, and the new Culture and Entertainment District laying the foundation. As the National Music Centre’s CEO put it, Nashville did not happen by accident, and the conditions in Calgary are set. Read more.

Premier Smith also took Alberta’s message to CNBC, where she made the case that North America already has everything it needs to secure its own energy, critical minerals, and supply chains without relying on anyone else. Canada has the resources, the United States has the refining and manufacturing capacity, and every day spent arguing over tariffs is a day handed to countries that are not our allies. Watch here.

Premier Smith and Jobs, Economy, Trade and Immigration Minister Joseph Schow launched a new online portal where Alberta businesses can tell our government directly how tariffs and counter-tariffs are hitting their operations, jobs, and growth. That information will shape Alberta’s response so it is practical and targeted where the pressure is actually being felt. With more than $152 billion in goods exported to the United States last year, our government will keep pushing for free and fair trade with our biggest trading partner and closest ally. Read more.

Premier Smith was joined by Advanced Education Minister Myles McDougall and local MLAs Nolan Dyck and Ron Wiebe to cut the ribbon on Northwestern Polytechnic’s new Skilled Trades Training Centre in Grande Prairie, a $29 million investment that will train the next generation of carpenters, electricians, plumbers, heavy equipment technicians, and more. Alberta now has 80,000 registered apprentices, an 85 per cent jump in four years, with 33,000 apprenticeship seats ready this September and more than $100 million in this year’s budget going toward apprenticeship education. Read more.

Alberta is once again leading the way, becoming the first province in Canada to launch a solar panel recycling program and banning solar panels from landfills starting October 1. Environment and Protected Areas Minister Grant Hunter and Affordability and Utilities Minister RJ Sigurdson announced the new program, which gets ahead of the problem well before dead panels start piling up, with more than 95 per cent of Alberta’s installed panels expected to reach end of life by 2045. Instead of burying valuable glass, aluminum, silver, and copper in the ground, Alberta will recover those materials, attract private investment, and build a new recycling industry right here at home. Read more.

Forestry and Parks Minister Todd Loewen unveiled Alberta’s first conservation licence plate, featuring two bighorn sheep and Mount Lougheed in a painting by Grande Prairie artist Desmond McCaffrey . Every plate sold sends $55 straight to the Alberta Conservation Association to support habitat restoration, wildlife research, and stewardship work across the province, giving Albertans a simple way to protect the wild places we all take pride in. Read more.

Our party continues to prepare for next year’s election, with six more candidates nominated. Congratulations to Nolan Dyck in Grande Prairie, Grant Hunter in Taber-Warner, Jordan Walker in Sherwood Park, Eric Bouchard in Calgary-Lougheed, Cynthia Moore in Calgary-Elbow, and Myles McDougall in Calgary-Fish Creek. More nominations are coming soon, so make sure your UCP membership is up to date to have your say in your riding. Find our nominated candidates here.

Everything we’re fighting for in Alberta is only possible because of you. When you give, even just $5, you put fuel in the tank for our team to keep standing up for Alberta. We can’t do it without you. Please give today.

— West Yellowhead Constituency Association