Alberta’s $10B Fiscal Challenge
Alberta’s fiscal challenges are well documented. Since the 2008 financial crisis, we have only balanced our budget once. And for the last six years, our annual deficits have ranged from $6B to $10B. While the COVID-19 pandemic will make things worse, the core of our fiscal challenge pre-dates this crisis and results from choices made by successive Alberta governments for decades.
It’s simple: Alberta spends more per capita than other provinces all while taxing significantly less. Historically, we were able to fund this luxury with resource royalty revenues, but continued volatility and expected lower commodity prices going forward means that path is no longer sustainable. The good news is that we have options on both the revenue and spending side of the equation to address the gap.
This tool is designed for you to explore those options and provide your recommendation for addressing Alberta’s $10B gap.