Elect Socialism
Constructivist poster for Abolish the Surplus

Policy No. 2 · Ministry of Finance

Abolish the Surplus

Alberta has money left over. Have they no shame?

Last year, Alberta finished with a $2.2 billion surplus. British Columbia, led by the visionary NDP, finished with a $7.7 billion deficit.1 Only one of these governments believes in the people.

This year BC is forecasting a record $13.8 billion deficit.2 Comrades, that's ambition.

BC's debt is now 2.8 times what it was in 2017, at $117.4 billion, and it's planned to reach $189.0 billion.3 All four credit rating agencies have downgraded BC.4 They're frightened of what BC is building.

Alberta used to understand this. Its last NDP government ran up $32.0 billion in deficits in four years. The UCP has run a combined $1.3 billion surplus over seven.5 We were so close.

The policyElect socialism. Spend the surplus, then spend the next one too.

BUDGET RESULTS, RANKED BY COURAGE Size of deficit, $ billions. $0B$7B$14B$21B$28B$35B$32.0B deficitHEROICAB NDP (4 yrs)$7.7B deficitBC NDP (1 yr)$1.3B surplus (shameful)UCP (7 yrs) BIGGER IS BRAVER Alberta NDP: 4 fiscal years 2015-19. UCP: 7 fiscal years 2019-26. BC: fiscal 2025-26.
Every number on this chart is real. The chart itself is not our fault.

Equal misery for all. It's only fair.

The numbers (that don't matter)

We cite our sources. We just don't read them.

  1. Alberta finished 2025-26 with a $2.2 billion surplus while B.C. finished the same fiscal year with a $7.7 billion deficit. Alberta Treasury Board and Finance; BC Ministry of Finance · F1
  2. For 2026-27, B.C. forecasts a record $13.8 billion deficit while Alberta's first-quarter update forecasts a $2.0 billion surplus, an $11.4 billion turnaround from Alberta's own budget, driven by oil prices after the Middle East war began in February 2026. Alberta Treasury Board and Finance; BC Ministry of Finance · F4
  3. B.C.'s taxpayer-supported debt rose from $41.5 billion (Mar 2017) to $117.4 billion (Mar 2026), 2.8 times higher, and Budget 2026 projects $189.0 billion by 2028/29. BC Ministry of Finance · F7
  4. B.C. has been downgraded by all four rating agencies since April 2025: S&P twice (Apr 2, 2025, AA- to A+; Apr 2, 2026, A+ to A, negative outlook), Moody's twice (Apr 2, 2025, Aaa to Aa1; Mar 19, 2026, Aa1 to Aa2, negative outlook), Morningstar DBRS (Apr 9, 2026, AA (high) to AA, stable trend) and Fitch (spring 2026, AA+ to AA-, negative outlook; Fitch's rating report is dated Apr 24, 2026). Moody's Ratings; S&P Global Ratings; Morningstar DBRS (documents hosted by BC Ministry of Finance) · F10
  5. Alberta's budget balance summed to a $1.3 billion surplus across the seven UCP fiscal years (2019-20 to 2025-26), versus a $32.0 billion cumulative deficit across the four Alberta NDP fiscal years (2015-16 to 2018-19). Alberta Treasury Board and Finance · F2

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