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Originally Posted by Calgarian
I haven't looked at the numbers, just have a basic understanding of how the program works. What is the source showing we contribute $4-5000 each per year?
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From the Stats Canada balance of payments information. For the 2007-2018 period, Alberta had an average negative balance of payments of $19.987B/year. Here's a chart that compares the various provinces in 2017, where Alberta is the clear outlier:
https://lop.parl.ca/sites/PublicWebs...701E#show/hide
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So if Equalization weren't a thing, you actually think the Conservative Provincial Government would raise their taxes? This is a federal thing, the Province wouldn't change a single thing if the program didn't exist.
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Maybe it won't, but taking even some of that freed up $20+B in revenue potential will be very tempting. Just like when the GoA made changes to the Education portion of Property Taxes that meant it didn't need as much, the City of Calgary snapped up that newly freed up tax room to pay for the Green Line.
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Good thing Albertans want to axe the program... lol
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The extraordinary COVID spending has nothing to do with equalization, and even with that boost, per-capita Federal spending in Alberta will still be the lowest in the country (and revenue still the highest).
With the COVID spending for 2020, Alberta may have a positive balance of payments of ~$10-15B, but Quebec will probably have a positive balance of payments of $50-60B. The spending isn't from better-off provinces to help Alberta, it's money borrowed from the future (with likely Albertans again shouldering a larger than average burden) to pay for today.