Bennett Jones
The future for P3s looks equally promising in Alberta.
“Jason Kenney’s election significantly increases the likelihood that infrastructure models will be developed along the P3 model,” says Geoff Stenger in Bennett Jones LLP’s Calgary office. “The Premier is on record that his government will be very aggressive in pursuing P3 projects, which he believes represent the most efficient way to develop large infrastructure.”
P3s, of course, also help Kenney pursue another priority, namely the immediate reduction of the province’s debt while maintaining his commitment to infrastructure.
To be sure, there was what Stenger calls a “P3 hiatus” under Rachel Notley’s NDP rule. But previous Conservative governments did resort to P3s to build about 40 schools, the ring roads in Edmonton and Calgary, a wastewater treatment plant and a composting facility in Calgary, among other projects — and Stenger expects Kenney to pick up where his Conservative predecessors left off.
“The most immediate shift will likely be from the social housing developments to which the NDP committed to more development under P3 models,” Stenger says.