Alberta
Alberta’s first “Month of the Artist”
Ricardo Miranda, Minister of Culture and Tourism, issued the following statement to kick off Alberta’s first Month of the Artist:
“Art and artists are a vital part of our culture. They make our province a great place to live, visit and raise a family. Month of the Artist is a time to recognize and celebrate the important contributions Alberta artists bring to our province both socially and economically.
“Alberta is the first province in Canada to dedicate a month to celebrate artists. It is a way to raise awareness of the challenges artists face and the value they bring to our province. Art is work. Art creates jobs, and art contributes to our growing economy.
“Alberta’s artists are storytellers, innovators, entrepreneurs, community builders, teachers and mentors. Art helps create conversations and builds relationships between people and communities.
“Throughout January, I encourage everyone to learn more about the people behind the art in their community and to find ways to support local artists. Our province is full of amazing events that feature work by Alberta artists. Take in a show at your local theatre. Visit an art gallery. Go to a concert. Or try something new and let your creativity blossom.
“I am proud that our government is supporting the hard-working artists who build Alberta’s rich social fabric and our economy. I hope everyone enjoys Canada’s first Month of the Artist.”
Quick facts
- In 2016, 44,880 Albertans worked in the arts, entertainment and recreation. (Source: Statistics Canada, National Household Survey, 2016).
- According to Statistics Canada estimates, Alberta exported $777.5 million of culture products in 2016.
- In 2016, there were 1.4 million domestic overnight visits to Alberta that included arts and culture activities. (Source: Statistics Canada: 2016 Travel Survey of Residents of Canada).
- In 2016, visual and applied arts and live performance industries in Alberta contributed about $1.3 billion in GDP. (Source: Statistics Canada, Provincial and Territorial Culture Indicators, 2010 to 2016).
- In 2016, Alberta spent $4,112 per household on culture and recreation goods and services, which was $632 higher than the national average of $3,480. (Source: Statistics Canada, Survey of Household Spending, 2016. Prepared by Alberta Culture and Tourism).
- In 2017-18, the Alberta Foundation for the Arts provided $24.1 million through 823 grants to organizations for operations and projects, as well as $3.1 million through 333 individual arts grants to support their activities.
Alberta
Alberta government should eliminate corporate welfare to generate benefits for Albertans
From the Fraser Institute
By Spencer Gudewill and Tegan Hill
Last November, Premier Danielle Smith announced that her government will give up to $1.8 billion in subsidies to Dow Chemicals, which plans to expand a petrochemical project northeast of Edmonton. In other words, $1.8 billion in corporate welfare.
And this is just one example of corporate welfare paid for by Albertans.
According to a recent study published by the Fraser Institute, from 2007 to 2021, the latest year of available data, the Alberta government spent $31.0 billion (inflation-adjusted) on subsidies (a.k.a. corporate welfare) to select firms and businesses, purportedly to help Albertans. And this number excludes other forms of government handouts such as loan guarantees, direct investment and regulatory or tax privileges for particular firms and industries. So the total cost of corporate welfare in Alberta is likely much higher.
Why should Albertans care?
First off, there’s little evidence that corporate welfare generates widespread economic growth or jobs. In fact, evidence suggests the contrary—that subsidies result in a net loss to the economy by shifting resources to less productive sectors or locations (what economists call the “substitution effect”) and/or by keeping businesses alive that are otherwise economically unviable (i.e. “zombie companies”). This misallocation of resources leads to a less efficient, less productive and less prosperous Alberta.
And there are other costs to corporate welfare.
For example, between 2007 and 2019 (the latest year of pre-COVID data), every year on average the Alberta government spent 35 cents (out of every dollar of business income tax revenue it collected) on corporate welfare. Given that workers bear the burden of more than half of any business income tax indirectly through lower wages, if the government reduced business income taxes rather than spend money on corporate welfare, workers could benefit.
Moreover, Premier Smith failed in last month’s provincial budget to provide promised personal income tax relief and create a lower tax bracket for incomes below $60,000 to provide $760 in annual savings for Albertans (on average). But in 2019, after adjusting for inflation, the Alberta government spent $2.4 billion on corporate welfare—equivalent to $1,034 per tax filer. Clearly, instead of subsidizing select businesses, the Smith government could have kept its promise to lower personal income taxes.
Finally, there’s the Heritage Fund, which the Alberta government created almost 50 years ago to save a share of the province’s resource wealth for the future.
In her 2024 budget, Premier Smith earmarked $2.0 billion for the Heritage Fund this fiscal year—almost the exact amount spent on corporate welfare each year (on average) between 2007 and 2019. Put another way, the Alberta government could save twice as much in the Heritage Fund in 2024/25 if it ended corporate welfare, which would help Premier Smith keep her promise to build up the Heritage Fund to between $250 billion and $400 billion by 2050.
By eliminating corporate welfare, the Smith government can create fiscal room to reduce personal and business income taxes, or save more in the Heritage Fund. Any of these options will benefit Albertans far more than wasteful billion-dollar subsidies to favoured firms.
Authors:
Alberta
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