Alberta posts $2.2B surplus for 2025-26 fiscal year

EDMONTON – Alberta finished the 2025-26 fiscal year with a surplus of more than $2.2 billion, the province’s fifth in a row, the government said Oct. 16 in its year-end results.

The result is $7.4 billion better than the Budget 2025 forecast. Total revenue came in at $79.8 billion, up $5.6 billion from the forecast, while total expense was $77.5 billion, down $1.8 billion.

Investment income rose $2.1 billion above forecast and corporate taxes were up $932 million. Non-renewable resource revenue, which includes oil and gas royalties, was up $867 million, mainly because of an oil price spike in March, the province said.

Net debt stood at $33.6 billion on March 31, 2026, down $747 million from a year earlier. Debt servicing costs were $2.9 billion, $30 million below budget.

The Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund passed $32 billion at year-end. The province said its $2.4 billion in net income was fully retained, and a further $2.8 billion of surplus cash from 2024-25 was added. The government’s targets are $35 billion by 2027 and $250 billion by 2050.

Premier Danielle Smith said “five consecutive surpluses mean Alberta is on solid ground, and we’re on track for a sixth.”

Finance Minister Jason Nixon struck a more cautious note. “We know oil prices can change in a day, and we will not mistake a good year for a guarantee,” he said.

That caution matters because the province’s books still ride on crude. West Texas Intermediate was near US$98 a barrel on Oct. 16, but the discount on Western Canadian Select has widened to its largest since 2023, which trims what Alberta heavy oil fetches and, in turn, the royalties collected. Industry consolidation, such as Cenovus’s $5.7-billion deal for Athabasca Oil, also shapes future royalty and corporate tax receipts.

For households, the release said a new 8 per cent personal income tax bracket saves individuals up to $750 and families up to $1,500 a year. More than 2.3 million Albertans benefited, with savings of more than $1.2 billion in 2025.

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Sources: Government of Alberta news release, Oct. 16, 2026; EnergyNow, Oct. 16, 2026.