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1. Canada’s energy sector gets some gifts (and a lump of coal) in 2017

   Canada’s energy economy received several gifts in time for this holiday season. Some were good, some were, well, not so good. One of the gifts was from the National Energy Board, which finally exerted its federal authority to approve ...

2. 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) ...

3. Risky business—the clean tech gamble

   Governments across Canada are betting big (carbon tax) money on clean tech. Quebec, Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta have all directed funds from carbon pricing into ventures promoting “clean tech” (a.k.a. technology that provides ...

4. Controlling compensation costs can help Notley government rein in spending

   Appeared in the Calgary Herald, March 9, 2017 Alberta has seen its financial position erode markedly after several years of operating deficits and growing government debt. While some believe the boom-bust of provincial finances is inherent to an energy ...

5. Comparing Government and Private Sector Compensation in Alberta, 2017

   Main Conclusions Using data on individual workers from January to December 2015, this report estimates the wage differential between the government and private sectors in Alberta. It also evaluates four available non-wage benefits in an attempt to ...

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 ...