Alberta's Affordability Agenda: The Details

Energy costs are currently one of the biggest pressures on household budgets. When prices vary from month to month, it becomes difficult for families to plan or manage expenses.

Alberta’s NDP will reduce household electricity costs by a target of 10 percent, including distribution and transmission costs, while creating greater stability and predictability in monthly bills.

We will deploy a coordinated effort across the system, working closely with generators, transmission facility owners, retailers, and regulators to ensure that Alberta's electricity market is stabilized, delivering more consistent and affordable bills for Albertans.

Reinvigorating Alberta’s renewables sector, expanding energy storage, and building more electricity interties with neighbouring jurisdictions will be an important part of this work.

Expanding and modernizing Alberta's electricity grid and renewable energy development will not only help increase low-cost energy supply in our generation mix, but it will improve competition, support long-term price stability, and position the province for a more resilient energy future.

For many Albertans, take-home pay has remained largely unchanged while everyday expenses — groceries, monthly bills and the price of gas — have continued to grow. Alberta now has the lowest minimum wage in the country, making it even harder to make ends meet.

That’s why Alberta’s NDP will protect your paycheque by:

• Increasing the minimum wage to $18 per hour to catch up to the rest of Canada — This increase would happen incrementally and predictably for businesses for the first three years, with future increases tied to inflation.
• Eliminating the under-18 youth minimum wage — Young workers doing the same job deserve the same pay, not $2 less per hour. Ending this gap ensures fairness and reflects the reality that many youths are contributing to household expenses or saving for their future.
• Protecting tips and gratuities for service workers — Currently unregulated, we will introduce new laws to ensure tip pooling is only for staff who contribute to service, and prohibit employers and managers from keeping tips unfairly. Employers who also perform the same service work as employees would be eligible.

All together, this will increase take-home pay for thousands of workers across the province, ensure equal pay for equal work regardless of age, and prevent wage loss from tip theft or unfair workplace policies.

Food prices have surged, and Albertans are being squeezed at the checkout every time they visit the grocery store. At the same time, food insecurity is rising in Alberta, and more families are being pushed to food banks. In the wealthiest province in the country, that is unacceptable.

Albertans need more grocery store options, transparency in pricing, and laws that will improve things — not keep the status quo.

Alberta’s NDP will tackle grocery affordability by:

• Creating an Independent Grocery Watchdog — The Watchdog would monitor and track food price trends, review complaints, provide regular public reporting, and provide transparency to Albertans on food pricing to ensure prices are fair and not driven by anti-competitive practices or hidden markups.
• Abolishing all grocery store anti-competition covenants — These covenants currently allow grocery chains to restrict direct competition nearby, including smaller shops like bakeries and butchers, creating food deserts and community-level monopolies. More competition will increase market access and provide more options to Albertans.
• Introducing shrinkflation laws — You should know when you’re spending the same to get less. We would require manufacturers to declare volume or weight reductions on product labels for a period of time, so you can see when your regular purchases have changed.

While rent, groceries, and utilities continue to climb, many people are also being hit with smaller, less visible charges that add up over time. Hidden fees, difficult-to-cancel subscriptions, and excessive service charges are making it harder to stay on top of household budgets.

Alberta’s NDP will end junk and nuisance fees by:

• Requiring clear upfront pricing at checkout and prohibiting add-on fees, except for taxes and shipping. The price you see should be the price you get.
• Introducing one-click cancel rules for subscription services so that cancelling them is as easy as it was when you signed up. No more extra hurdles just to cancel, providing you with greater control over recurring expenses.

While trying to make ends meet each month is already difficult for many Alberta families, saving for a down payment and home ownership can be even more challenging. That’s why Alberta’s NDP would help more Albertans enter the housing market by expanding the successful Attainable Homes Calgary program province-wide, through Attainable Homes Alberta.

Attainable Homes Alberta will offer:

• Down payment assistance — For those struggling to save the standard 5 percent down payment, the program offers a loan to cover this requirement, with participants contributing just $2,000 minimum upfront.
• Below-market pricing — Eligible buyers can purchase homes at prices below the market rate, making ownership more affordable.
• Equity building — As homeowners pay down their mortgages, they build equity, investing in their financial future.
• Sustainable affordability — The program ensures long-term affordability by reacquiring homes at the original purchase price upon resale, allowing new families to benefit from the same opportunities.
• Community investment — By facilitating homeownership, the program strengthens community ties and promotes economic stability within.

Rising fuel prices are putting increasing pressure on household budgets across Alberta. When the cost of gasoline climbs quickly, families have little ability to adjust, especially those who rely on their vehicles for work, school, and daily life. This volatility makes it harder to plan, manage expenses, and keep up with the overall cost of living.

The current legislation is too restrictive; in early 2026, because the Iran war started after the calculation period for the second quarter, Albertans went three months with no relief.

Alberta's NDP would change the legislation to allow the Alberta government to move much more quickly, without relying on artificial dates and calculations.

By removing the 13¢/ litre tax while prices remain high, many households could see savings up to $300 per year.

We will also enhance the Alberta Farm Fuel Benefit so that producers are fully exempt from paying any provincial fuel tax when purchasing dyed diesel.