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“Going forward, there will be smaller and smaller deficits,” Ceci said.

Wildrose finance critic Derek Fildebrandt once again called for the NDP to table the budget now rather than wait until after the Oct. 19 federal election. He said tax hikes aren’t the answer.

“No government has ever spent its way to a balanced budget, particularly in a time of economic uncertainty,” Fildebrandt said in a statement. “The NDP and the previous government have imposed huge tax hikes on Albertans and job creators. They should make clear now that they will not break their promise to Albertans by raising taxes beyond even those in their platform.”

Ceci called the fall budget responsible and affordable, with investments in education and health care, top priorities for his government and Albertans. He connected with 83,671 Albertans during two September telephone town hall sessions and asked them about their budget priorities in phone surveys.

During the northern Alberta session:

— 30 per cent said the province should raise taxes or service fees to help balance the budget, while 49 per cent said the province should delay new programming until the economy recovered. Another 20 per cent said the province should cut services and reduce spending.

— 31 per cent want the province to build new schools and infrastructure and 25 per cent said the NDP government should restore cuts made to health care by the PCs.

— 43 per cent voted to keep Alberta’s tax regime competitive, and voted “no” to a provincial sales tax.