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Alberta’s infrastructure minister said he wants to help towns and cities as much as possible, but there are limits with the provincial economy still deep in the red.

Brian Mason said unless the economy changes it will be hard to increase any funds for infrastructure.

Mason is meeting with federal and provincial counterparts in Edmonton to discuss the next phase of Ottawa’s plan to invest $120 billion on infrastructure.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has promised to cover half the costs of the new projects, rather than the expected one-third.

That has led to public sniping between Mason and Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson over Alberta’s decision to contribute 25 per cent.

Iveson said the province should contribute a third, but Mason said times are tough and Alberta municipalities already get the most in Canada when it comes to per-capita funding for operations and capital projects.

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