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1. 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, ...

2. New report highlights Alberta’s long-term budget challenges

   The PBO has given the Notley government another warning that spending is badly out of line with revenue. ...

3. Notley following Rae’s fiscal model—and getting the same results

   In 2015, Premier Notley’s incoming NDP government found itself at a crossroads when it came to handling Alberta’s deteriorating public finances. As detailed by a Fraser Institute study from that year, various past provincial NDP ...

4. Alberta private sector improving but government finances remain in bad shape

   Dave Mowat, president of ATB Financial, said recently that Alberta’s economy was “turning the corner” after a difficult year in 2016. His comment came as the Crown Corporation released its financial results for the past fiscal year. ...

5. Alberta leads the country in spending growth

   Premier Rachel Notley's NDP government inherited a difficult set of fiscal circumstances when it came into power just over two years ago. The new government faced a big budget deficit, caused by a combination of rapid spending ...

6. Alberta’s debt service costs set to double in just four years

   According to Alberta Finance Minister Joe Ceci (pictured above), the Notley government won’t alter its fiscal plan even if credit agencies again downgrade the province’s credit rating. This is troubling, as it means that Alberta will ...

7. Alberta’s net financial position has deteriorated by $68 billion in 11 years

   Alberta Finance Minister Joe Ceci (pictured above) recently claimed that the provincial government will maintain its spending trajectory, regardless of whether the province suffers another credit downgrade. With the province having ...

8. Budget 2017—Alberta government burning through assets at alarming rate

   By now, Albertans have heard that for a second year in a row, the provincial government plans to run a budget deficit of more than $10 billion. While those numbers are especially large, the unfortunate reality is that budget deficits are ...

9. Spending choices, not a drop in oil prices, spurred Alberta’s chronic deficits

   Avoiding deficits during an oil boom should be a relatively straightforward proposition for governments in oil-rich jurisdictions. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case in Alberta. A recent Fraser Institute study compared how Alberta ...