Understanding Alberta’s Outsized Contribution to Confederation

When Alberta is economically strong, all Canadians benefit, because money is redistributed to other parts of Canada.
In 2022, despite restrictive federal policies, Alberta continued to contribute disproportionately to the federation.
Alberta’s 5.0% real GDP growth rate was the fastest in Canada in 2022, accounting for 17.9% of Canada’s real GDP growth, despite being home to 11.6% of the population.
In 2022, 56,245 Canadian residents relocated to Alberta, representing more than 75% of total net in-migration within Canada.
Alberta reported the fastest private sector employment growth among the provinces (7.8%) in 2022, accounting for 19.2% of private sector jobs created in Canada.
Per private sector worker, Alberta attracted $36,412 of business investment, more than double the national average (excluding Alberta).
From 2007 to 2022, Alberta’s net contribution to the federal finances totalled $244.6 billion—more than five times as much as BC’s ($46.9 billion) or Ontario’s ($41.9 billion). In 2022, Alberta contributed $14.2 billion more to federal revenues than it received back in federal spending.
If Alberta were an “average contributor” based on the other provinces, rather than a large net contributor, the federal government would have had a fiscal shortfall of $16.9 billion in 2022. For perspective, to cover this net revenue loss, the federal GST rate would need to increase from 5.0% to 7.2%.
Put simply, without Alberta’s oversized contribution to the federation, Canada would be worse off. To benefit all Canadians, the federal government should focus on supportive policies, not restrictive ones.