Premier defends $4.8-million office budget increase, citing end of Alberta's energy 'war room'

Jack Farrell · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Mar 19, 2025 10:32 AM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is defending a astir 23 per cent summation to her office's budget, saying it's coming astatine the disbursal of the Energy Ministry arsenic her bureau assumes immoderate ceremonial and fiscal work for promoting the province's lipid and state industry.

Smith, appearing astatine a legislative committee gathering Tuesday to instrumentality budgetary questions from Opposition NDP members and United Conservative backbenchers, said the astir $4.8-million summation planned for the premier's bureau fund volition implicit the process of folding the arguable Canadian Energy Centre into government.

The centre, besides referred to arsenic the vigor "war room," was created successful 2019 by erstwhile United Conservative premier Jason Kenney and fixed an archetypal $30-million fund to bash conflict against what it considered misinformation being hurled astatine Alberta's lipid sector.

Alberta's Opposition NDP has called the centre a monolithic discarded of nationalist dollars.

It was afloat unopen down past summertime and its resources were returned to the government.

"I thought it was precise absorbing the enactment that the Canadian Energy Centre has done, and that is portion of the crushed wherefore I wanted to sphere them," Smith told the committee Tuesday, adding that she thought the centre's advertizing efforts could've been much effective.

'Major campaigns'

Smith said the modulation meant further unit were hired oregon contracted to enforcement council, and portion of the $12 cardinal the centre was spending connected advertizing was added to her fund past year, with the remaining magnitude being accounted for nether this year's summation to her bureau budget.

"What we volition beryllium doing with those dollars would beryllium the vigor advocacy that the archetypal vigor centre had been doing," she said.

"There's been a mates of large campaigns we discovered that we needed to do."

One of the unit contracted to enforcement assembly aft the vigor centre was unopen down, Steve Rennick, is being paid a full of astir $430,000 implicit 2 years, according to the government's sole root contracts database.

Calgary-based Jaremko Energy Consulting was besides fixed the aforesaid contract, and some expire successful the outpouring of 2026.

Another unit member, Cody Ciona, was fixed a two-year declaration that volition wage him conscionable implicit $100,000.

The Alberta government's caller fund tabled past period forecasts a $5.2-billion deficit, mostly attributed to declining lipid gross and the uncertainty of tariffs southbound of the border.

Out of the $79 cardinal acceptable to beryllium spent crossed government, astir $67.4 cardinal is designated for Smith's bureau and enforcement council, her duties arsenic intergovernmental relations curate and the yearly operating assistance fixed to the Invest Alberta Crown corporation.

About $25.7 million, up from the $20.9 cardinal forecasted to beryllium spent successful the fiscal twelvemonth ending this month, is for Smith's bureau and enforcement council.

It covers staffing expenses for Smith and enforcement council, specified arsenic the government's caller apical bureaucrat — erstwhile Edmonton constabulary main Dale McFee — arsenic good arsenic authorities employees tasked with drafting and co-ordinating argumentation crossed each authorities ministries.

Smith said Tuesday that the Intergovernmental Relations Ministry volition beryllium renamed Intergovernmental and International Relations arsenic of adjacent month.

The astir $5-million fund hike planned for Smith's bureau continues the inclination of increases fixed to her bureau and intergovernmental relations enactment since she took bureau successful 2022.

The government's caller fund includes a astir $70,000 summation for intergovernmental relations from the forecasted spending successful the existent fiscal year, bringing the full to $23.6 million.

Smith told the committee she plans to proceed making trips to the United States to conscionable with authorities officials astir President Donald Trump's tariffs arsenic uncertainty continues to loom implicit the narration betwixt Canada and its confederate neighbour.

She besides said her bureau volition besides beryllium looking to signifier relationships and found commercialized opportunities successful Europe, Asia and Latin America.