Key Influencer - Travis Toews

Honourable Travis Toews

Minister of Treasury Board and Finance

MLA Grande Prairie – Wapiti

Travis Toews was first elected to the Alberta Legislature in the 2019 election as the MLA for Grande Prairie - Wapiti. He lives in the Grande Prairie region with his wife, three children, and seven grandchildren. He holds a CPA and a CMA accounting designation and spent 12 years in a public accounting practice. More recently, Travis and his wife Kim, have started a cattle ranching operation and an oilfield environmental business.

Toews has also served on many industry boards and committees including as President of the Canadian Cattleman’s Association, and on the Boards of the Alberta Beef Producers and the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance.

Following the United Conservatives forming government in 2019, Toews was sworn in as the province’s 32nd Finance Minister. With his experience in running a business and as a professional accountant, he is well served to handle the province’s finances and budgeting process. This past Thursday, he released the UCP government’s third Budget of their tenure with historic levels of spending and debt. Elected under a conservative banner, it is apparent that this is an uncomfortable direction for Toews. However, with the COVID-19 pandemic and the global downturn in the economy, plans to balance the budget and bring public spending under control have been put on the back burner. In the latest budget, there is currently no timeline on when the budget will be balanced, but we can safely assume that Alberta’s debt levels weigh heavily on Minister Toews.