Alberta spends billions on disaster relief, but still posts $4.3 billion budget surplus

Alberta’s conservative government spent more than planned in the past fiscal year as natural disasters, including record-setting wildfires, cost the province billions of dollars – expenses the Finance Minister considers irregular.Nate Horner, in the government’s fiscal update Thursday, said Alberta posted a surplus of $4.28-billion for 2023-2024, up 5.7 per cent compared to its original forecast of $2.35-billion. But while revenue hit $74.73-billion, spending jumped to $70.44-billion, up 3 per cent compared to the budget and 9 per cent over the year prior.