By Charles Lefebvre

Budget 2020 highlights

Feb 27, 2020 | 4:10 PM

EDMONTON, AB — The United Conservative Party says they remain on track to balance the budget by 2023.

Finance Minister Travis Toews tabled Budget 2020 Thursday afternoon.

The budget is forecasting a deficit of $6.8 billion for 2020-2021 and revenues of $50 billion.

The budget deficit for 2019-2020 was $7.5 billion, lower than the $8.7 billion originally forecast.

The government is forecasting a small surplus for 2023.

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Budget highlights

A total of 684 full-time equivalent positions with the government are set to be cut this year. The majority of the cuts will occur in the Agriculture and Forestry ministry, with 277.

Further losses are expected in post-secondary institutions and in school boards, totalling 1,436 positions. A total of 398 cuts to staff at post-secondary institutions is mentioned in the budget. For school boards, 138 certified staff positions and 108 non-certified positions are expected to be lost.

The province says the majority of the cuts will occur through attrition.

If you use vaping products, be prepared to pay more. The province has implemented a 20 per cent tax on vaping products in an attempt to discourage youth from starting the habit.

The province is forecasting $4 million in revenue for 2020-21, rising to $8 million by 2021-22.

The province has also introduced a levy on short-term rental properties, such as ones listed on Airbnb. Owners of those properties will have to contribute a tourism levy of four per cent, similar to the current levy applied to hotels. The legislation will be introduced later in the spring, and if passed, would take effect in the summer. The province expects the move to add $3 million in revenue this year.

Education

The province is maintaining funding for education at $8.3 billion this year. The funding includes $7.2 billion from the province and $681 million funded from school boards own-source revenues and reserve funding.