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1. Quarterly update highlights danger of riding rickety revenue rollercoaster

   The Notley government’s failure to restrain spending is quickly growing Alberta’s debt burden. ...

2. Government debt—a snapshot of each province

   The 2018 edition of the Federal Fiscal Tables is out, so it’s a good time to review the state of provincial government debt in Canada, especially given that we are about 10 years out from the financial crisis and Great Recession. Even ...

3. Alberta auditor general spotlights the resource rollercoaster

   Alberta’s auditor general recently produced a report that highlighted risks to Alberta’s long-term fiscal sustainability. The report highlights a number of problems with Alberta’s approach to fiscal policy in recent years, including the ...

4. Four reasons why Alberta’s vague balance budget plan may fall short

   Last month, when Finance Minister Joe Ceci unveiled Alberta’s 2018 budget, despite weeks stoking expectations of a detailed plan to eliminate the province’s budget deficit, he instead delivered a risky plan almost entirely reliant on ...

5. Surprise—Alberta’s government debt burden is approaching Quebec’s

   The recent provincial budgets released by the Quebec and Alberta governments are a study in contrasts of government debt. On one hand, Quebec has a high-debt government that’s aiming to reduce its debt burden. On the other hand, Alberta ...

6. Another tough year for Alberta finances

   Another year, another deficit. The Government of Alberta has run nearly uninterrupted deficits since 2008/09, and this year is no exception. In fact, that $10.3 billion deficit the province plans to run this year is just shy of the ...

7. Alberta’s run of deficits tower over Ontario’s worst

   Appeared in the Financial Post, May 30, 2017 Over the past decade, Ontario emerged as the poster child for poor fiscal management in Canada, due largely to the province’s deep run of deficits. However, thanks to a decade of rapid spending growth and ...

8. Race to the Bottom: Comparing the Recent Deficits of Alberta and Ontario

   Alberta’s public finances are deteriorating rapidly, with the provincial government set to run a cumulative budget deficit of $27.6 billion over the three-year period from 2015/16 to 2017/18. Until recently, by far the largest deficits of any ...

9. Saskatchewan has a plan to balance its budget, Alberta doesn’t

   Appeared in the Calgary Sun, March 27, 2017 Alberta and Saskatchewan are energy-rich jurisdictions that fell on hard times as commodity prices fell. And both jurisdictions face significant fiscal challenges, with large budget deficits and substantial debt ...

10. Chronic spending-driven deficits eroding Alberta’s financial position

    Not so long ago, the Government of Alberta’s financial position was strong. In 2007/08 the province had net financial assets (the difference between financial assets and liabilities) amounting to $35 billion. In other words, the ...