In 2015/16, Alberta is scheduled to run its seventh deficit in eight years.
alberta economy
January 4, 2016
1:59PM
The provincial government introduced numerous tax increases, essentially ending Alberta’s tax advantage relative to key competing jurisdictions.
December 29, 2015
2:04PM
The real culprit for Alberta’s fiscal problems—and ultimately the recent credit downgrade—is several years of rapid spending growth by successive governments.
December 22, 2015
3:53PM
The recent elections in Alberta and federally in Canada have elected governments that appear dedicated to increasing government’s interference in the economy.
June 20, 2015
11:00AM
In its recent Speech from the Throne, the new Alberta government reiterated its plans to make life more expensive in Alberta.
June 19, 2015
10:00AM
Alberta’s economy is still on shaky ground as oil prices remain depressed relative to last year’s levels.
May 9, 2015
8:00AM
In a famous explanation of why voters choose the governments they do, a 1990s-era adviser to Bill Clinton remarked, “It’s the economy, stupid.” That’s not wholly accurate; voters toss parties out (and vote parties in) on matters other than unemployment rates and incomes. The recent Alberta election is only the most obvious example.
January 17, 2015
10:00AM
With oil prices plunging and provincial resource revenues expected to drop, Alberta’s red ink will rise. In response, Premier Jim Prentice has floated the notion of a provincial sales tax and/or hikes in other taxes.
December 27, 2014
10:00AM
There is a prominent view among some in Alberta’s provincial government and elsewhere in the province that believes booms and busts in government finances are a result of the province’s large energy sector.
December 1, 2014
9:00AM
Forty-one billion dollars. That’s the extra amount, over and above what was needed to keep pace with population growth and inflation between 2006 and 2013, this to fund Alberta government program spending in those years.