Alberta NDP Critic for Advanced Education David Eggen made the following statement in response to the Alberta 2030 announcement:

“Today the UCP announced their plan for Alberta 2030, which I am glad to see more work being done on micro-credentials and research, however this announcement is coming on the heels of devastating $690 million in cuts to post-secondary which has created chaos and a toxic environment for positive long-term reform.

“You cannot prepare post-secondary for Alberta’s economic future while making budget cuts of this magnitude. Jason Kenney and the UCP must reverse the $690 million in cuts to the post-secondary budget, completely freeze tuition rates for at least the duration of the pandemic, stop increases to student loan interest rates, and end to move performance-based funding for schools. 

“Minister Nicolaides has already mismanaged several important issues for post-secondary, such as removing university status for Red Deer College. He also blew $3.7 million on the McKinsey Report which yielded results that staff and students were very vocal did not align with what is needed for our schools’ future. I worry that Alberta 2030 is going to be a massive dump of salt into the wound that the UCP has inflicted on Alberta’s post-secondary system. 

“Post-secondary can be the engine of Alberta’s economic future. We just need a government that supports it.”