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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. Alberta deficit hit $8 billion despite improving resource revenues

   The Government of Alberta released its 2017/18 annual report Thursday, closing the book on the 2017/18 fiscal year. According to the report, the deficit for the fiscal year turned out to be $2.5 billion less than initially anticipated ...

3. 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 ...

4. 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 ...

5. Alberta’s 2018 budget—a breathtaking exercise in complacency

   Yesterday, the Alberta government released its budget for the 2018/19 fiscal year. The document is essentially a status quo budget, which promises continued nominal spending growth over the rest of its fiscal plan (though more moderate ...

6. Saskatchewan and Alberta—two vastly different fiscal paths

   Earlier today, Premier Brad Wall’s government in Saskatchewan tabled its budget for 2017/18. It was impossible not to immediately notice some obvious points of contrast between this document and the budget tabled by Premier Rachel Notley ...

7. Albertans endure abysmal wait times despite 191% health-care spending increase over 15 years

   Another budget, another round of growth in health-care spending in Alberta. The projected 3.2 per cent increase in health-care spending this year may sound reasonable at face-value since it’s generally in line with population growth and ...

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. Alberta’s 2017 budget—a decade of fiscal deterioration with no end in sight

   Ten years ago, Alberta’s finances were in good shape. What a difference a decade makes. Despite high oil prices in many years since 2007/08, the province has run a nearly uninterrupted string of deficits ever since primarily due to rapid ...

10. Poll says Albertans looking for a new fiscal direction in upcoming budget

    The Notley government is set to release its 2017 budget tomorrow. Barring any major surprises, it will contain spending-fuelled deficits as far out as the government provides projections. There’s also no indication that there will be any ...