Nate Horner delivering Budget 2025.
Edmonton — Premier Danielle Smith has issued new mandate letters to four key ministers with a focus on affordability, fiscal discipline and government efficiency. The move comes as Alberta’s Ministry of Finance continues to grapple with a provincewide teachers’ strike affecting more than 700,000 students.
The letters outline new priorities for Finance Minister Nate Horner, Affordability and Utilities Minister Nathan Neudorf, Technology and Innovation Minister Nate Glubish, and Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction Minister Dale Nally.
Smith said the government is “focused on results, not bureaucracy,” pledging to keep life affordable and ensure every tax dollar is spent wisely.
Horner’s mandate emphasizes keeping spending growth below inflation plus population and growing the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund to $35 billion by 2027. He is also tasked with reviewing grants and financial tools for efficiency, completing the new Automobile Insurance Act framework, and strengthening oversight of ATB Financial.
“We’re taking a disciplined, forward-looking approach to Alberta’s finances,” Horner said, adding that the goal is to “keep our province well-positioned for long-term growth and opportunity.”
Neudorf has been directed to continue challenging the federal Clean Electricity Regulation under Alberta’s Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act motion, modernize the power grid, and explore nuclear power as part of the province’s future energy mix.
Glubish’s priorities include launching a digital strategy, expanding high-speed internet access, and implementing an artificial intelligence data centre attraction plan. He will also develop a provincial intellectual property strategy allowing Alberta to take ownership stakes in technologies developed with public funding.
Nally’s mandate focuses on cutting red tape, improving service efficiency, and introducing a Canadian citizenship identifier on provincial identification cards to strengthen election security.
The Premier’s Office said the updated mandates are part of the government’s broader effort to deliver “lasting results Albertans can count on” while maintaining Alberta’s reputation as the province with the lowest net-debt-to-GDP ratio in Canada.
The announcements come as the Treasury Board and Finance ministry faces growing pressure amid the ongoing teachers strike that has disrupted schools across the province since late September.
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