An Alberta Party government will enact the Jobs First plan to attract investment and create jobs for Alberta families. The plan is expected to expand the provincial economy by $16 billion and foster the creation of 65,000 jobs.
RESTORING ALBERTA AS A PLACE OF OPPORTUNITY
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GUARANTEED ANNUAL INCOME
The GPA supports implementing a Guaranteed Annual Income. Implementing this program would eliminate many of the current bureaucratic,interventions that now exist, their ineffectiveness only exceeded by the humiliation they perpetuate. The current income tax system can administer this program without any additional bureaucracy. The GPA would supplement the Guaranteed Annual Income where needed. |
World-Class Workforce
Alberta Liberals believe in putting people first. Where other parties want to pursue giveaways to industry and pick economic winners and losers, we want to invest in you. We will launch the Back to Work Grant Program. This program will provide $80 million annually in grants to out-of-work Albertans who want to pursue job training and post-secondary studies. This fund will provide up to 32,000 out-of-work Albertans up to $2,500 to help them train for new job opportunities. Any Albertan who has been out of work or underemployed in their chosen field for 3 or more months and is pursuing post-secondary studies or new job training can apply. We will prioritize applicants based on their period of unemployment or underemployment and based on where there are skilled labour shortages in Alberta. Alberta Liberals will also expand the number of new post-secondary spaces to train the next generation of tech workers, increasing the number of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) graduates in Alberta by 25% within the next five years. Pipeline Access We need access to new markets. The price differential we’re seeing on our oil is hurting our economy and is hurting Albertans. Alberta Liberals will fight to make sure the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion is responsibly built. We will also work constructively on building a Canada-wide coalition dedicated to reviving the Energy East Pipeline and displacing foreign oil imports in eastern Canada. Tearing Down Interprovincial Trade Barriers An Alberta Liberal Government would put a renewed emphasis on interprovincial trade. It is currently easier to trade with many countries than it is to trade within our own. We will work to break down interprovincial trade barrier to grow the economy and reduce prices for consumers. We will repair damaged relationships with other provinces and build consensus around national infrastructure projects like pipelines. |
Support for Small Businesses
We will introduce a tax deduction exempting any new small businesses from paying corporate income tax for the first three taxation years after incorporation. Small businesses inject over $100 billion into our economy every year. We need to support them. The first few years of a small business are the hardest. That is why we want to focus on supporting them during this time, helping them get off the ground, become profitable, and employ more Albertans. Reducing Corporate Welfare Despite its reputation of being a free enterprise, open market jurisdiction, Alberta spends the most of all Canadian provinces on business subsidies. Alberta Liberals will establish an experienced, independent panel to assess the value of all existing business subsidy programs and make recommendations on how to reform our system. We will aim to reinvest $500 million in savings back into our public services instead of having Government act like venture capitalists. Tax Reform Not all taxes are created equal. Economists have shown that by shifting how we tax from income taxes to a sales tax we can grow Alberta’s economy without losing the revenue vitally needed for our public services OR increasing taxes Albertans pay. The Alberta Liberal fiscal plan will achieve this goal. It has been hailed by top economists as “the most pro-growth idea of the campaign.” Reverse New Statutory Holiday Pay Rules The new rules brought in by the NDP Government are unfair, overly restrictive and punishing to both workers and employers. We will reverse these changes. |
Diversifying Alberta's Economy
We will continue to invest in tax credits, innovation grants and strategic investment programs to spur growth in new and expanding industries, such as value-added agriculture, food processing, and interactive media production. We will phase in the expansion of $25-a-day child care to boost women’s employment to ensure economic growth and close the largest workforce participation gender gap in the country. Fighting for you. We will attract and retain high-tech investment, building Alberta’s reputation as a national leader in new technologies through our ongoing support of Alberta Innovates and creative programming such as GreenSTEM, the Alberta Entrepreneur Incubator Program and regional innovation networks. We will build on our global reputation for excellence in artificial intelligence and health technology, bringing investment and jobs through our five-year Artificial Intelligence Acceleration Initiative which directs investment to help AI experts commercialize their innovations. We will work with the film and television industry to determine the right policy levers that will allow Alberta to capitalize on growing production demand, increase Alberta’s share of production, and make Alberta a creative economic hub in western Canada. We will create a Small Business Investment Office to streamline small business regulation and support new and growing businesses, and we’ll keep small business taxes low. We will continue to fight against punitive U.S. tariffs that are hurting Alberta industries, including lumber and steel. Action for Agriculture and Farmers We will streamline processes and reduce wait times for farmers applying for government approvals related to farmland, including environmental permits and lease transfers and create a one-stop portal for farmers to access government programs and services. We will help farmers reduce waste with a new system for recycling agricultural plastics. We will direct the Agriculture Finance Services Corporation to extend financing for non-traditional crops and livestock. We will develop a unit to assist retiring farmers in succession planning and to encourage younger farmers into the industry. We will commit to maintain funding for local 4-H societies and agricultural societies and work with 4-H to improve governance to ensure they remain vital parts of agricultural communities. |
More Value and Jobs from Alberta Oil
We will continue to fight for additional pipeline capacity, including getting the Trans Mountain expansion built. We will continue to ensure we get full value for our resources. In the short term we will carefully manage curtailment to prevent the price differential from artificially rising. In the medium term we will make sure the crude-by-rail plan to get more product to market generates profits for Albertans. And over the long term we will fight for greater pipeline capacity to ensure we have access to markets overseas which reduces our reliance on the U.S. We will work with industry to unlock $75 billion in new investment and 70,000 new jobs through a major expansion of refining, upgrading and petrochemical production capacity. We will complete the High and Heavy Load corridor network to facilitate moving large industrial equipment around the province. We will adopt a series of reforms to speed up and streamline regulatory processes for oil and gas projects without undermining environmental and safety standards. Reforms will include full implementation of the One-Stop online platform for applications by the end of 2020, and establishing the Alberta Regulatory Competitive Task Force, led by the Department of Energy and comprised of industry representatives and all applicable government ministries. We will review transportation regulations related to oil well drilling, including considering re-classifying rigs as off-road vehicles, creating an annual provincial road permit, and pushing the federal government to harmonize rig classification standards to improve cross-border operations. We will continue to fight Bill C-48 and call for significant amendments to Bill C-69. |
Bill 2: The Open for Business Act
Wages • Return to allowing banked hours to be paid out at regular pay instead of time-and-a-half • Introduce a Youth Job Creation Wage of $13.00 for workers who are 17 years of age or younger to encourage job creators to hire young Albertans for their first job. • Retain the general $15.00 minimum wage • Appoint a Minimum Wage Expert Panel to: • Analyse and publish all of the available economic data on the labour market impact of the NDP’s 50% increase in the minimum wage • Assess whether hospitality industry workers who serve alcohol would likely generate higher net incomes (i.e. by working more hours) with a wage differential similar to those that exist in Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia • Return to a regular / irregular workday distinction for calculating holiday pay • Return to a holiday pay qualifying period of 30 work days in the 12 months preceding a general holiday Workplace democracy and balance in labour legislation • Restore the mandatory secret ballot for union certification votes • Protect workers from being forced to fund political parties and causes without explicit opt-in approval • Reverse the replacement worker ban in the public sector • Require the Labour Relations Board to provide legal support to all union workers in order to better understand and exercise their rights • Strengthen new provisions in the Labour Relations Code that have reduced the duplication of employment claims in multiple forums (such as labour relations, employment standards, arbitration, and privacy) The Alberta Advantage Immigration Strategy • Immediately launch consultations to develop the Alberta Advantage Immigration Strategy, which will be completed by the end of 2019. We will seek input from immigrants, employers, settlement organizations, municipalities, policy experts, and will study best practices in other provinces. The goal will be to end large backlogs, speed up processing times, proactively attract talented newcomers from overseas, and welcome job-creating entrepreneurs. • Create a Rural Entrepreneur Immigration Program that will invite entrepreneurs to start new businesses in smaller Alberta communities Letting our Energy Sector Get Back to Work • Within 180 days complete a review of the AER to identify efficiencies in both the budget and regulations of the AER • Establish clear benchmarks for approval times, and maintain a public dashboard of the AER’s key performance metrics • Streamline and expedite the AER’s review processes to bring greater certainty and stability to our investment climate A Smarter Approach to Innovation • Drive innovation by creating the best business environment in Canada. A business wanting to expand and hire should view Alberta has the most attractive place in North America. Alberta Strong & Free 45 • Fix the current approach to innovation funding by simplifying the way starts-up and growth companies secure public – and private – funding. We will reduce duplication and coordinate across the many investment agencies in the province. Investments of public money will have a clear ‘return on investment’ criteria. • Apply technology and process improvements to the government itself in order to lead by example. The government will actively engage in pilot projects to test global ‘best practices’ that can help deliver public services faster, more securely, and at lower cost. • Make Alberta a destination for global entrepreneurs through the creation of streams within the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program. |
• Create a Rural Renewal Immigration Program that would prioritize AINP applications from foreign nationals who are committed to living and working in smaller communities throughout Alberta 42 Alberta Strong & Free
• Create the International Student Entrepreneur Program, which will encourage foreign student graduates of Alberta post-secondary institutions to start a business and stay in Alberta permanently. Data shows that young foreign student grads with Canadian degrees and strong English language skills are set for success and become major contributors to the economy. • Create the Foreign Graduate Startup Visa Program that will target brilliant foreign grads of top universities in the United States who want to launch a start-up enterprise in North America but cannot get immigration status in the USA Job Creation in Alberta's Tourism Sector • Direct Travel Alberta to work with tourism stakeholders to develop a new 10-year Tourism Strategy recognizing the role that the private sector can play in assisting government in promoting Alberta as a tourist destination • Reorient the mandate of Travel Alberta towards more active facilitation of private sector funding and public-private partnerships for its tourism marketing and promotion activities • Reprofile a portion of existing government funding for tourism into a Tourism Partnership Incentive Fund (TPIF), managed through Travel Alberta, to attract and identify sources of private sector support for tourism • Remove intrusive laws, rules, and regulations which impede the development of Alberta’s tourism sector • Work with the federal government and airport authorities in Calgary and Edmonton to expand air transport agreements and get more flights to Alberta from tourist source countries • Establish a target to double tourism spending in Alberta to $20 billion by 2030 • Make tourism the responsibility of the Minister of Economic Development and Trade The Farm Freedom Act: renewing opportunities for Alberta's agricultural entrepreneurs • Immediately launch comprehensive consultations with farmers, ranchers, agriculture workers and others on how best to balance the unique economic pressures of farming with the need for a common sense, flexible farm safety regime. The goal of these consultations will be to develop recommendations for the introduction of the Farm Freedom and Safety Act (FFSA), which will be passed into law in 2019. The FFSA will: • Repeal Bill 6 (i.e. the 2015 Enhanced Protection for Farm and Ranch Workers Act) • Require employers to maintain workplace insurance for farm workers, but allow employers to choose whether to purchase insurance from the market or from the WCB as long as basic standards of coverage are met for such things as medical and return-to-work support services, and protection against loss of income 28 Alberta Strong & Free • Exempt small farms from employment legislation, following the example of New Brunswick that exempts farms that “employ three or fewer employees over a substantial period of the year (not including family members)” • Ensure basic safety standards • Recognize that operating a farm is unlike operating a conventional business, and that farmers and ranchers require much greater flexibility in meeting employment standards. • Minimize the red tape burden on farmers and ranchers • Strengthen property rights by pursuing the constitutional entrenchment of property rights, and adopting an Alberta Property Rights Protection Act • Fight for market access and reduce interprovincial trade barriers • Streamline the Agriculture Financial Services Corporation to improve services and responsiveness to farmers • Eliminate the carbon tax and reduce the corporate tax and red tape burden on farmers and ranchers by one-third • Fight back against attacks on agriculture by well-funded special interests - in many ways, these resemble the campaign of vilification targeting Alberta’s energy industry in recent years • Ensure that farmers, not government, set key agriculture research priorities • Perform a comprehensive review of risk mitigation programs • Consult on land sales in order to replace good agricultural land lost to urban expansion by cooperating with municipalities seeking auctions on parcels of Crown land for agricultural use, where appropriate. Such disposition of Crown land would be subject to consultation with First Nations communities and others. In one case, MacKenzie County seeks to complete an auction of about 100,000 acres. To put this request in perspective, there are approximately 100 million acres of Alberta Crown land. |
