At Alberta Finance, our vision is to provide financial leadership that strengthens Alberta; and our mission is to provide corporate financial services and manage the province’s financial affairs and policies in the interests of Albertans. Our staff look for new and better ways to plan, budget and invest for the province. We provide Albertans with quarterly fiscal updates, report on government`s performance and provide economic forecasting. We also administer provincial tax and rebate programs, investments, pension plans and regulate insurance and financial institutions.
We provide a wide range of services to ensure Alberta maintains its strong financial position.
The department is the central component of Alberta Finance, led by the Deputy Minister. Alberta Finance currently employs approximately 470 people.
Four districts of the Northwest Territories formed the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan in 1905: Athabasca, Assiniboia, Alberta and Saskatchewan. Alberta was named after Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, fourth daughter of Queen Victoria. It was proclaimed a Province on September 1, 1905. Albertans are celebrating their centennial in 2005. The First Nations settled the plains about 8,000 years ago. They sustained themselves by hunting the buffalo. Another group of First Nations, who included the Woodland Cree and Chipewyan tribes, settled the woodland areas of central Alberta. These people hunted caribou, moose and fished the lakes and rivers. They used bark canoes to travel up and down streams in the area.