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1. Comparing Government and Private Sector Compensation in Alberta, 2019

   Main Conclusions Using data on individual workers from January to December 2018, this report estimates the wage differential between the government and private sectors in Alberta. It also evaluates four non-wage benefits for which data are available to ...

2. How Albertans Continue to Keep Federal Finances Afloat

   In a 2017 study, we measured Alberta’s net contribution to Canada’s economy during the most recent economic boom in the province. We showed that when it comes to overall economic growth, job creation, or business investment, Alberta made a ...

3. Alberta’s debt may eclipse 100 per cent of GDP

   Up until 2016/17, the Government of Alberta had no net debt. That is, its financial assets (such as the Heritage Fund) were greater than its liabilities. The province burned through $35 billion of financial assets beginning in 2008/09, ...

4. Decline in federal tax revenue highlights importance of a strong Alberta

   A recent Globe and Mail feature revealed that federal personal income tax revenue declined by nearly $5 billion between 2015 and 2016. According to subsequent analysis by University of Calgary economist Lindsay Tedds, an eye-popping 97 ...

5. Canada’s federal deficits would be much worse without Alberta

   The prevailing narrative surrounding the post-2008 recovery in Canada is that the country weathered the storm significantly better than the United States, and has emerged in relatively strong fiscal shape (though certainly not unscathed) ...

6. Yes, Alberta’s tax advantage is gone

   Appeared in the Calgary Sun, January 7, 2017 The Fraser Institute recently released a study documenting the erosion of Alberta’s once substantial tax advantage. Specifically, it showed that, until recently, Alberta benefitted from uniquely competitive and ...

7. The End of the Alberta Tax Advantage

   This paper examines the extent to which the tax policy changes introduced in Alberta in 2015 have diminished Alberta’s tax advantage relative to peer jurisdictions. Specifically, we compare key tax rates in Alberta before and after the recent tax policy ...

8. New jobs numbers underscore need for improved investment climate in Alberta

   New Statistics Canada data show that Alberta’s unemployment rate climbed from 7.9 per cent to 8.6 per cent in July—the highest rate the province has experienced since 1994. While this is merely a snapshot of a single month, the ...

9. An HST for Alberta? It depends what the money is used for

   In Wednesday’s Financial Post, University of Calgary economist Trevor Tombe made the case for a provincial harmonized sales tax (HST) in Alberta. Tombe argued that a harmonized sales tax in Alberta would cause less economic damage for ...

10. Property tax and minimum wage hikes squeezing fragile Calgary retailers

    Calgary retailers have had a bad year, to say the least. Sales were down 3.8 per cent year over year as of March as laid-off employees have trimmed expenses and those worried about prospective layoffs have sat on their wallets. With an ...