Alberta election campaign enters third week, with leaders to debate Thursday

United Conservative Party Leader Danielle Smith waits to make an election campaign announcement in Calgary, Alta., Thursday, May 11, 2023. Albertans go to the polls on May 29. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Alberta's election campaign is entering its third week, with the leaders of the United Conservatives and the NDP set to face each other in a debate on Thursday.

Both parties made announcements on health care over the weekend, with NDP Leader Rachel Notley promising to offer bonuses of up to $10,000 to attract doctors, nurses, and other allied health professionals to Alberta.

Notley also pledged an NDP government will create up to 10,000 new post-secondary spaces specific to the health field and others over the next three years.

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UCP Leader Danielle Smith, meanwhile, pledged to fund a review by Alberta Health Services to determine whether five additional diseases and conditions should be added to a list of 22 conditions newborns are automatically scanned for at birth.

She also promised to provide additional funding for testing, educational supports and programs for children with autism and other disabilities, and said that doctors, midwives, and nurses will be eligible for the UCP's recently announced Alberta is Calling Signing Bonus and Graduate Retention Tax Credit.

Albertans go to the polls on May 29.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 15, 2023.