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1. 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 ...

2. Notley government at two years—too much Rae, not enough Romanow

   Appeared in the Calgary Herald, May 12, 2017 Just over two years ago, Rachel Notley became the 17th Premier of Alberta. Upon taking office, Premier Notley’s government was confronted with serious fiscal challenges. Oil prices were down, the economy was ...

3. Oil prices aren’t to blame; Alberta’s budget misdiagnoses the problem

   Appeared in the Toronto Sun, November 2, 2015 If the first step towards remedying a problem is admitting that you have one, Alberta is a long way away from fixing its budget woes. Indeed, Finance Minister Joe Ceci took every opportunity in his recent ...

4. Don’t blame oil prices for Alberta’s deficit

   Appeared in the Financial Post, October 21, 2015 Alberta’s budget, to be unveiled on Oct. 27, will contain the province’s seventh deficit in the last eight years, most recently projected at $5.9 billion. A popular narrative blames declining oil prices for ...

5. Alberta's Budget Deficit: Why Spending Is to Blame

   Alberta is headed toward its seventh deficit in eight years and the province is at risk of returning to a net debt position as early as next year. A popular narrative holds that the recent fall in oil prices is responsible for the deterioration of Alberta ...

6. Worried about Alberta’s budget? Stop counting on high resource prices

   Appeared in the Calgary Herald 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. So ...

7. Prentice’s Path: Getty or Klein?

   Appeared in the Financial Post Alberta Premier Jim Prentice is in the midst of formulating his first budget and the fiscal path of the province while watching oil prices continue to decline. In this environment, the key question for the new premier is: ...

8. Why Alberta is broke

   Appeared in the National Post and Calgary Herald The red-ink budgets that have engulfed Alberta since the last recession—Alberta’s Finance Minister Doug Horner just announced this year’s deficit could hit $4-billion— are not accidental. Such red ink is ...

9. Alberta Premier's budget flip flop

   Appeared in the Calgary Herald When governments enter an election year, the political temptation to play fast and loose with budget numbers is strong. The most famous example of this was probably the 1996 budget in British Columbia. That year, then-B.C. ...