Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi says the Alberta budget should not include a slash to promised capital funding for municipalities. (CBC)

Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi will be in Edmonton as the finance minister delivers what has been billed as a ‘tough choices’ budget.

Nenshi said he hopes the provincial government keeps its promise to increase infrastructure funding from now to 2023.

“The capital budget is where it really matters and if in fact they pull back on their capital funding, that could cost the city tens of millions, sometimes hundreds of millions of dollars in interest, just money that just goes straight to the banks. What a waste,” he said.

“And if that happens then we have some significant problems.”

Nenshi was invited to the pre-budget lockup but he thought it made more sense to let the city's corporate economist take his seat, he said.

While he said he has no idea what cuts might be in store, he said he hopes the Tories don’t try to balance the books on the backs of municipalities.

One of the challenges of running a city, Nenshi said, is not knowing what will be in the budget — and how it will affect municipalities — until it is presented.