Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says her government’s $8.6-billion plan to fast-track building new schools will include a pilot project to incentivize private ones.

It shows that Manitoba’s Wab Kinew is the country’s most popular premier with an approval rating of 66 per cent. After that, there is a three-way tie for second place. An equal 46 per cent of respondents say they approve of Danielle Smith (Alberta), Andrew Furey (Newfoundland and Labrador) and David Eby (B.C.).

Danielle Smith’s United Conservative Party (UCP) must have received one hell of a blast from parents about the appalling crowding in Alberta’s schools when classes started two weeks ago, judging from the policy lurch Alberta’s premier revealed in a hastily cobbled together TV announcement.

The Alberta government says it will spend $8.6 billion over the next seven years to build as many as 30 new schools and create 200,000 more student spaces across the province. Premier Danielle Smith announced the plan in a televised address on Tuesday evening, calling it a “one-time capital investment” in the province’s school system.

Alberta construction officials are warning that skilled labour shortages might make delivering on the provincial government's ambitious, $8.6-billion plan to build new schools challenging.

Alberta was calling and now the government is working to address one of the consequences of an unprecedented number of people moving to the Prairie province over the past year.