Cost of government
The cost of government
How Alberta’s ministry spending, travel, and political overhead have changed over time.
Ministry operating expense over time
Stacked per-ministry operating expense from government estimates. The top six ministries by total spend are shown individually; the rest are grouped as “Other.” Ministry counts per year appear in the summary table below.
The Health ministry breakup
In 2023-24, Mental Health and Addiction split off from Health. Then in 2026-27, the residual Health ministry was broken into Hospital & Surgical Health Services and Primary & Preventative Health Services — one ministry became three.
Political overhead over time
Minister office expenses and MLA payments — the cost of the political layer. Senior public servant compensation is broken out in the table below.
Sunshine list
Senior public servant compensation disclosures — every position above the disclosure threshold, broken down by base salary, benefits, and severance.
View the sunshine list →