Alberta’s premier says the province is “on standby to help” the City of Edmonton after reports the city is struggling with finances and in the wake of losing seven senior managers in the past year.
“We want the council to know and the mayor to know that we’re on standby,” Premier Danielle Smith told a March 27 news conference.
“No one has stepped in, no one has intervened, no one is doing an audit,” she said in response to questions from reporters. “But if they need our help, we are ready, and on standby to help.”
Ms. Smith said the loss of so many senior managers is “unusual.”
“When you’ve got a major city that has the kind of budget and the kind of responsibility Edmonton does, and you lose seven or eight of your senior staff, and then you’re hearing of meetings where they talk about very serious financial challenges, it would be irresponsible not to pay attention to that, so we’re paying attention,” she said.
The city, with a population of just over 1.1 million, finished 2023 with a $52 million deficit, forcing it to dig into its reserves to balance the books.
“The shortfall of $240 million creates a significant gap in bus renewal, with a total of 300 conventional buses scheduled for replacement this cycle but without funding to support this renewal,” said the report to the city’s urban planning committee.
In a March 27 statement issued to The Epoch Times, Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi denied there were major problems with the city’s finances or governance.
“The City of Edmonton is in compliance with our guiding legislation in all aspects of our operation, including with our financial policies, which are well within the legislated limits,” the statement said.
“We have a collaborative working relationship with Premier Smith and Cabinet and we will continue to advocate on behalf of Edmontonians for the stable and equitable funding we need.”
He said it was clear from Premier Smith’s comments “that there are no inspections or audits planned for the City of Edmonton.”
City councillor Tim Cartmell told The Epoch Times the planned 6.6 percent tax increase is not carved in stone.
“We have a number of considerations, operating budget amendments that we’re going to talk about, between now and April 23. So there’s a possibility of bringing that number down,” he said.
Premier Smith said her office had been contacted by individuals who were part of a recent council meeting where the city’s financial challenges had been discussed.
Ms. Smith was asked about her working relationship with Mayor Sohi, a former cabinet minister in Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government, and whether her leadership of the United Conservative Party is a reason the province is “on standby” for Edmonton.
The premier echoed Mr. Sohi’s sentiment that they have a good working relationship.
“I think we’ve actually worked together quite collaboratively,” she said, emphasizing that the province is waiting to see if the city asks for help.
“It’s a big step, if you try to intervene in any Council’s decision-making, let alone a city as large and important as our capital city, and so we would not take that decision lightly,” she said. “We would want them to be very specific about whether they think we can help and how they would like that help.”
