While Budget 2026 adds money for infrastructure, it lowers the threshold for seniors income supports, which will cut thousands of Albertans off the benefit.--FILE PHOTO
zmason@medicinehatnews.com
Thousands of Alberta seniors and their caregivers will lose income supports due to cuts in Budget 2026.
The income threshold for the Alberta Seniors Benefit was lowered by nine per cent in Budget 2026, although the budget also includes significant investment in continuing care infrastructure and affordable housing.
“The reduction in the threshold makes me fairly nervous, because between the centres, we deal with all income ranges, and we offer specialized programs targeted at low-income seniors,” said Larry Mathieson, president of Unison, which operates the Veiner Centre in Medicine Hat and another centre in Calgary.
“So the reduction in the threshold, we don’t really know what the difference is yet, but we’re nervous for that socioeconomic group.”
Effective July 1, eligibility for the income support will be limited to seniors receiving an income of less than $32,690 per year, down from $34,770 prior to the change.
For couples, the threshold has been reduced from $56,820 to $53,800.
Neither the Ministry of Assisted Living and Social Services nor the Ministry of Finance responded to a request for information prior to the publication deadline. CBC News estimated thousands of Alberta seniors will lose their income supports.
It’s a change that Mathieson finds troubling.
“If you’re making decisions between buying prescriptions that you need or buying groceries, that’s a big number,” said Mathieson.
Mathieson says more than 210,000 Alberta seniors need financial support of some kind.
Finance Minister Nate Horner told reporters Thursday the cuts were determined by the government’s continuous improvement committee, which said Alberta’s income threshold for the seniors benefit was the highest in the country.
Horner says the new cut-off is tied with New Brunswick and the territories for the highest threshold in Canada for that kind of benefit.
“We’re just looking everywhere we can to not be outliers, but not make Alberta less generous than anyone,” he said.
According to the fiscal plan, the reduction will save the government an estimated $23 million in 2026-27 and $31 million in 2027-28 and beyond.
Larry says he sees the minister’s point, but says the reality is many seniors still rely on that support.
“I understand the logic,” said Mathieson. “But one of the things that concerns me is we do a lot of work in food security for seniors, and we have a fairly decent economy, all things considered right now, but food insecurity in Alberta is higher than you might expect.”
Despite his concern about reduced eligibility for income credits, Mathieson says there are other investments to support seniors outlined in Budget 2026 that he finds encouraging.
Mathieson pointed out that, to keep up with the growth of the senior population across the province, the budget for the Alberta Seniors Benefit is increasing by $13 million over Budget 2025.
He’s also encouraged to see more money for affordable housing. Investments include $150 million for the Lodge Modernization Program for seniors’ lodges, and $768 million to create 13,000 affordable housing units.
“We see seniors coming in to our centres every day asking for help finding affordable housing options. So we’re glad to see that, because housing for seniors is such an issue.”
He says Unison will monitor the way the income support changes impact seniors accessing services, and will maintain an open dialogue with government as the results of that develop.
“When we see how that’s impacting seniors, we will definitely communicate that information to the province,” he said.
Another program affecting seniors that has been cut in Budget 2026 is the caregivers tax credit.
Caregivers could previously apply for either the caregiver or the infirm dependant credit.
These two credits have been consolidated by Budget 2026, and the eligibility criteria has been adjusted to exclude caregivers supporting aging family members who are not considered infirm.
CBC News reported that 16,500 Albertans will lose this credit, but that the provincial government says around 7,500 will either receive more through the new grant, or will gain eligibility.
The fiscal plan estimates the measure will reduce tax expenditures by around $12 million in the first year.
