The economic gap between provinces has shrunk yet equalization payments have continued to increase.
equalization policy
According to forecasts, overpayments will account for 35 per cent of the program’s cost in 2025/26.
Ottawa raised $280 billion more from Albertans than it spent in Alberta from 2007 to 2019.
Reforms in the 1990s led to a marked decline in welfare dependency and reduced spending on social assistance.
Alberta received just $249 million in payments despite a revenue loss of $7.2 billion.
Currently, equalization payments increase in line with nominal GDP growth.
Albertans will likely vote on equalization in October.
In 2019/20, equalization comprised 21 per cent of provincial government revenue in Prince Edward Island.
As a share of the province’s total government revenue, New Brunswick’s equalization payments fell from 23.7 per cent to 19 per cent.