alberta deficit

If, as the newly released census data indicates, you’re one of many arrivals to Alberta in the last half-decade, here’s the shortcut to understanding Alberta’s politicians: On budget day, they replay their favourite “spend-now, tax-later” 1980s tunes.

Some history: Between the fiscal years 1986 and 1994 (fiscal years end March 31), the province of Alberta ran nine consecutive deficits. That happened because for too long, politicians assumed boom-time revenues would soon return. They were mistaken.