Alberta 2025 budget adds money for border security and fighting contraband tobacco
The Alberta government tabled its 2025-2026 Budget on Thursday with increases to education, border security and money to curb contraband tobacco in the province, even as the government says it will be in the red for the next two years.
Finance Minister Nate Horner put forth spending some $30 million to fight smuggling along the Alberta-Manitoba border, along with nearly $29 million to protect the province from U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs against Canada, that Trump has said would drop on March 4.
As part of the Alberta’s efforts to fight smuggling, the budget is proposing measures that it says will help reduce the prevalence of contraband tobacco in the province.
The measure include: doubling the number of officers in Alberta Gaming, Liquor, and Cannabis’s Tobacco Enforcement Unit, which will improve their ability to disrupt contraband trafficking and sales; introducing two new administrative penalties to increase the financial consequences of participating in contraband activities, set at three times the tax otherwise payable and will apply to the possession or sale of contraband cigarettes, tobacco sticks and fine-cut tobacco, or the unauthorized possession of cigars that in total contain more than 1,000 grams of tobacco; introducing legislation to mandate the reporting of contraband seizures to ensure consistent data collection and enforcement, and working with other provinces to strengthen nationwide enforcement efforts; and advocating for stronger federal action to combat contraband tobacco in Canada.
READ: CICC commends Ontario government action on contraband tobacco
The consulting firm Ernst & Young last year looked at the impact illegal tobacco had on convenience stores across five provinces. If estimated that in Alberta, the contraband tobacco market took $430 million in gross sales revenue in Alberta between 2021 to 2023, which resulted in a loss to the government’s coffers more than $262 million in tobacco tax revenue during that time.
Just this February, the Calgary Herald reported 36,000 cartons of contraband cigarettes were seized by the RCMP on a truck heading to the town of Brooks, some 130 kms from Calgary.
The Convenience Industry Council of Canada (CICC) applauded the Alberta government's Budget 2025 measures to combat the massive contraband tobacco market in the province.
"It's clear that the government heard calls from our industry and local stores that contraband tobacco is big problem for retailers, government revenues and funds organized crime throughout the country. We have been meeting with officials on this issue for some time and are pleased the government listened and acted on our recommendations," said Sara MacIntyre, vice-president, Western Canada. "Today's Budget commitments will make a real difference for stores in Alberta and demonstrate that the government is taking this issue seriously. We will continue to work with officials and ministers to ensure these measures are fully implemented and identify new solutions to keep illegal tobacco and organized crime out of our communities.”
