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2 more deaths – Over 100 new cases – Over 4,500 tests processed in the last 24 hours – Alberta COVID-19 Update (April 1)

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From the Province of Alberta

Update 19: COVID-19 pandemic in Alberta (April 1 at 5:00 p.m.)

Since March 31, an additional 117 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Alberta, bringing the total number of cases in the province to 871.

There have been two additional deaths.

Latest updates

  • Cases have been identified in all zones across the province:
    • 527 cases in the Calgary zone
    • 219 cases in the Edmonton zone
    • 57 cases in the Central zone
    • 51 cases in the North zone
    • 12 cases in the South zone
    • Five cases in zones yet to be confirmed
  • Of these cases, there are currently 29 people in hospital, with 13 admitted to intensive care units (ICU).
  • In total, there have been 62 hospitalizations, with 20 admissions to ICUs.
  • Ninety-four of the 871 cases are suspected of being community acquired.
  • There are now a total of 142 confirmed recovered cases.
  • There are a total of 11 deaths in Alberta – six in the Calgary zone, three in the Edmonton zone, and two in the North zone.
  • Alberta Health is tracking outbreaks in the following facilities and has updated reporting to focus on confirmed cases:
    • Calgary zone: McKenzie Towne Long Term Care with 35 confirmed cases, Father Lacombe Care Centre with one confirmed case, and Carewest Glenmore Park centre with one confirmed case.
    • Edmonton zone: Shepherd’s Care Kensington, where there are four confirmed cases.
  • Aggregate data, showing cases by age range and zone, as well as by local geographical areas, is available online at alberta.ca/covid19statistics.
  • All Albertans need to work together to help prevent the spread and overcome COVID-19.
  • Restrictions remain in place for close-contact businesses, dine-in restaurants and non-essential retail services. A full list of restrictions is available online.
  • Albertans are prohibited from attending gatherings of more than 15 people, and they must continue to observe two metres of social distancing. This includes events both indoors and outdoors, such as family gatherings, weddings and funerals. Further details are available online.

Reducing backlog of lab tests

This week, Alberta has seen an upswing in the number of people testing positive for COVID-19. This is because laboratories are quickly dealing with a testing backlog, caused by a delayed shipment over the weekend of reagent, a chemical used in the tests.

The reagent arrived Monday, allowing laboratory technologists to test more samples and confirm more cases. We have conducted more than 4,500 tests in the last 24 hours. Of these, about 98 per cent came back negative, an indicator in line with previous days. A total of 53,141 people have been tested for COVID-19.

Shelter support

The Calgary Drop-In Centre will be opening a shelter at the Calgary TELUS Convention Centre on April 2 for homeless people who are well.

Update on special event licences

As a result of the limitation of mass gatherings to a maximum of 15 people, AGLC has temporarily suspended the special event licensing application process on its website.

People who had planned to host private events and had already purchased special event licences may apply for refunds by emailing [email protected] or visiting aglc.ca for more information.

Access to justice

The Court of Queen’s Bench is encouraging Albertans to access alternative dispute resolution mechanisms for non-urgent matters, including mediation and arbitration.

More information: https://albertacourts.ca/qb/resources/announcements/alternative-dispute-resolution-consent-orders-and-applications-to-enforce-arbitration-awards

List of essential workplaces

The list of essential workplaces that can continue to operate in Alberta can be found online.

Emergency isolation supports

Emergency isolation supports are available for Albertans who are self-isolating or who are the sole caregivers for someone in self-isolation, and have no other source of income. Applicants can view eligibility criteria and apply at alberta.ca. To carefully manage the flow of applications, we are periodically closing online access to MADI and the emergency isolation support. We will provide daily updates about system availability

Quick facts

  • The most important measures that Albertans can take to prevent respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19, is to practise good hygiene.
    • This includes cleaning your hands regularly for at least 20 seconds, avoiding touching your face, coughing or sneezing into your elbow or sleeve, disposing of tissues appropriately.
  • Anyone who has health concerns or is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 should complete an online COVID-19 self-assessment.
  • For recommendations on protecting yourself and your community, visit alberta.ca/COVID19.

Convention centre to house homeless in Calgary during COVID-19 pandemic

After 15 years as a TV reporter with Global and CBC and as news director of RDTV in Red Deer, Duane set out on his own 2008 as a visual storyteller. During this period, he became fascinated with a burgeoning online world and how it could better serve local communities. This fascination led to Todayville, launched in 2016.

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Alberta

Low oil prices could have big consequences for Alberta’s finances

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From the Fraser Institute

By Tegan Hill

Amid the tariff war, the price of West Texas Intermediate oil—a common benchmark—recently dropped below US$60 per barrel. Given every $1 drop in oil prices is an estimated $750 million hit to provincial revenues, if oil prices remain low for long, there could be big implications for Alberta’s budget.

The Smith government already projects a $5.2 billion budget deficit in 2025/26 with continued deficits over the following two years. This year’s deficit is based on oil prices averaging US$68.00 per barrel. While the budget does include a $4 billion “contingency” for unforeseen events, given the economic and fiscal impact of Trump’s tariffs, it could quickly be eaten up.

Budget deficits come with costs for Albertans, who will already pay a projected $600 each in provincial government debt interest in 2025/26. That’s money that could have gone towards health care and education, or even tax relief.

Unfortunately, this is all part of the resource revenue rollercoaster that’s are all too familiar to Albertans.

Resource revenue (including oil and gas royalties) is inherently volatile. In the last 10 years alone, it has been as high as $25.2 billion in 2022/23 and as low as $2.8 billion in 2015/16. The provincial government typically enjoys budget surpluses—and increases government spending—when oil prices and resource revenue is relatively high, but is thrown into deficits when resource revenues inevitably fall.

Fortunately, the Smith government can mitigate this volatility.

The key is limiting the level of resource revenue included in the budget to a set stable amount. Any resource revenue above that stable amount is automatically saved in a rainy-day fund to be withdrawn to maintain that stable amount in the budget during years of relatively low resource revenue. The logic is simple: save during the good times so you can weather the storm during bad times.

Indeed, if the Smith government had created a rainy-day account in 2023, for example, it could have already built up a sizeable fund to help stabilize the budget when resource revenue declines. While the Smith government has deposited some money in the Heritage Fund in recent years, it has not created a dedicated rainy-day account or introduced a similar mechanism to help stabilize provincial finances.

Limiting the amount of resource revenue in the budget, particularly during times of relatively high resource revenue, also tempers demand for higher spending, which is only fiscally sustainable with permanently high resource revenues. In other words, if the government creates a rainy-day account, spending would become more closely align with stable ongoing levels of revenue.

And it’s not too late. To end the boom-bust cycle and finally help stabilize provincial finances, the Smith government should create a rainy-day account.

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Alberta

Governments in Alberta should spur homebuilding amid population explosion

Published on

From the Fraser Institute

By Tegan Hill and Austin Thompson

In 2024, construction started on 47,827 housing units—the most since 48,336 units in 2007 when population growth was less than half of what it was in 2024.

Alberta has long been viewed as an oasis in Canada’s overheated housing market—a refuge for Canadians priced out of high-cost centres such as Vancouver and Toronto. But the oasis is starting to dry up. House prices and rents in the province have spiked by about one-third since the start of the pandemic. According to a recent Maru poll, more than 70 per cent of Calgarians and Edmontonians doubt they will ever be able to afford a home in their city. Which raises the question: how much longer can this go on?

Alberta’s housing affordability problem reflects a simple reality—not enough homes have been built to accommodate the province’s growing population. The result? More Albertans competing for the same homes and rental units, pushing prices higher.

Population growth has always been volatile in Alberta, but the recent surge, fuelled by record levels of immigration, is unprecedented. Alberta has set new population growth records every year since 2022, culminating in the largest-ever increase of 186,704 new residents in 2024—nearly 70 per cent more than the largest pre-pandemic increase in 2013.

Homebuilding has increased, but not enough to keep pace with the rise in population. In 2024, construction started on 47,827 housing units—the most since 48,336 units in 2007 when population growth was less than half of what it was in 2024.

Moreover, from 1972 to 2019, Alberta added 2.1 new residents (on average) for every housing unit started compared to 3.9 new residents for every housing unit started in 2024. Put differently, today nearly twice as many new residents are potentially competing for each new home compared to historical norms.

While Alberta attracts more Canadians from other provinces than any other province, federal immigration and residency policies drive Alberta’s population growth. So while the provincial government has little control over its population growth, provincial and municipal governments can affect the pace of homebuilding.

For example, recent provincial amendments to the city charters in Calgary and Edmonton have helped standardize building codes, which should minimize cost and complexity for builders who operate across different jurisdictions. Municipal zoning reforms in CalgaryEdmonton and Red Deer have made it easier to build higher-density housing, and Lethbridge and Medicine Hat may soon follow suit. These changes should make it easier and faster to build homes, helping Alberta maintain some of the least restrictive building rules and quickest approval timelines in Canada.

There is, however, room for improvement. Policymakers at both the provincial and municipal level should streamline rules for building, reduce regulatory uncertainty and development costs, and shorten timelines for permit approvals. Calgary, for instance, imposes fees on developers to fund a wide array of public infrastructure—including roads, sewers, libraries, even buses—while Edmonton currently only imposes fees to fund the construction of new firehalls.

It’s difficult to say how long Alberta’s housing affordability woes will endure, but the situation is unlikely to improve unless homebuilding increases, spurred by government policies that facilitate more development.

Tegan Hill

Director, Alberta Policy, Fraser Institute

Austin Thompson

Senior Policy Analyst, Fraser Institute
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