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Alberta

Alberta. The Best Province in a Nation in Trouble.

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Submitted by Red Deer South MLA Jason Stephan

September 1 is Alberta Day. Alberta is a land of freedom and prosperity, welcoming all who desire to work and to serve, seeking happiness for themselves and their families. Alberta joined confederation and became part of Canada on September 1, 1905. Historically, Alberta has led Canada in key measures such as GDP per capita, business investment per worker, private sector employment, CPP contributions, equalization payments, etc. Alberta is the best.

Canada has benefited from Alberta more than Alberta has benefited from Canada. In this graph produced by the Fraser Institute, for its article titled Understanding Albertaā€™s Outsized Contribution to Confederation, it is estimated that Alberta businesses and workers, between 2017 to 2023, paid more than $244 billion to Ottawa than it received from Ottawa, dwarfing net contributions of the only two other contributing provinces, Ontario and BC, despite, in the case of Ontario, having a much larger population.

The biggest taker during this period was Quebec, receiving more than $327 billion from Ottawa than it paid. Many have written how Quebec and others ā€œgameā€ confederation to increase transfers from producers. Indeed, the current premier of Quebec said that his favorite thing about Canada is equalization.

While Canada has the potential to be the most free and prosperous country in the world, by objective measures it is not, and the flawed structure of ā€œconfederationā€, and some who seek to exploit it to glut themselves on the labors of others, hold us back and drag us down. When the ā€œredistributionā€ of wealth displaces the ā€œproductionā€ of wealth as a ruling principle, we are in trouble and that is now.

Many are concerned that Trudeauā€™s Canada is a growing danger and threat to Albertaā€™s freedom and prosperity. That is true. Alberta is better off without Trudeauā€™s Canada. Trudeauā€™s Canada is a fiscal train wreck. Trudeau has smashed through a trillion dollars in debt, accumulating more debt than all Prime Ministers before him combined. This gross negligence, waste and disrespect will be burdens of our children long after they are gone. Canada now pays more in interest on its debt than it collects from the GST.

Prior to Trudeau, in 2014, Canadaā€™s per capita GDP was 92% of the US. What is it now? In 2022, it is 72%, a 20% drop in less than 10 years, and getting worse. We are getting poorer, fast. It should not be this way, it does not need to be this way.

Canadians awake and alive to the truth of Trudeauā€™s Canada and where it is leading are rightly concerned and alarmed. But what to do? Some are leaving or have left.

Alberta has the highest per capita GDP in Canada, rejecting Trudeauā€™s woke, socialist values of mediocrity and virtue signaling, producing nothing. Trudeauā€™s Canada appears to resent Alberta with policies that single out Alberta, seeking to attack, hold back, or drag it down.

Do not count on many politicians to stand up for a ā€œFair Dealā€ for Alberta, because if Alberta gets a Fair Deal, then it means less handouts for others!

Letā€™s provide Albertans with the unbiased truth and facts surrounding ā€œfiscal federalismā€. Who is paying what, and who is getting what, directly or indirectly, from Alberta businesses and workers. Albertans should be supplied with the truth about what they are paying for and what Trudeauā€™s Canada is costing them. In this fall legislature I will be bringing forward a motion to get to these facts, even if some do not like it.

Letā€™s arm Albertans with more truth, and then trust them to lead, to know what is best. Letā€™s increase Albertaā€™s leverage for a Fair Deal. The less Alberta needs Canada, the more leverage Alberta has. There are many things that Alberta can do for Albertans better than Trudeauā€™s Canada.

Albertans need alternatives to Trudeauā€™s Canada; letā€™s prepare, insulate, and protect ourselves from this accelerating trainwreck, which unabated, will crash as sure as night follows day.

We cannot be complacent – less talk and more action.

Alberta is a blessed land of freedom and prosperity. We must be vigilant to keep it that way. Happy Alberta Day!

 

 

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Alberta

Big win for Alberta and Canada: Statement from Premier Smith

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Premier Danielle Smith issued the following statement on the April 2, 2025 U.S. tariff announcement:

ā€œToday was an important win for Canada and Alberta, as it appears the United States has decided to uphold the majority of the free trade agreement (CUSMA) between our two nations. It also appears this will continue to be the case until after the Canadian federal election has concluded and the newly elected Canadian government is able to renegotiate CUSMA with the U.S. administration.

ā€œThis is precisely what I have been advocating for from the U.S. administration for months.

ā€œIt means that the majority of goods sold into the United States from Canada will have no tariffs applied to them, including zero per cent tariffs on energy, minerals, agricultural products, uranium, seafood, potash and host of other Canadian goods.

ā€œThere is still work to be done, of course. Unfortunately, tariffs previously announced by the United States on Canadian automobiles, steel and aluminum have not been removed. The efforts of premiers and the federal government should therefore shift towards removing or significantly reducing these remaining tariffs as we go forward and ensuring affected workers across Canada are generously supported until the situation is resolved.

ā€œI again call on all involved in our national advocacy efforts to focus on diplomacy and persuasion while avoiding unnecessary escalation. Clearly, this strategy has been the most effective to this point.

ā€œAs it appears the worst of this tariff dispute is behind us (though there is still work to be done), it is my sincere hope that we, as Canadians, can abandon the disastrous policies that have made Canada vulnerable to and overly dependent on the United States, fast-track national resource corridors, get out of the way of provincial resource development and turn our country into an independent economic juggernaut and energy superpower.ā€

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Alberta

Energy sector will fuel Alberta economy and Canadaā€™s exports for many years to come

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From the Fraser Institute

By Jock Finlayson

By any measure, Alberta is an energy powerhouseā€”within Canada, but also on a global scale. In 2023, it produced 85 per cent of Canadaā€™s oil and three-fifths of the countryā€™s natural gas. Most of Canadaā€™s oil reserves are in Alberta, along with a majority of natural gas reserves. Alberta is the beating heart of the Canadian energy economy. And energy, in turn, accounts for one-quarter of Canadaā€™s international exports.

Consider some key facts about the provinceā€™s energy landscape, as noted in the Alberta Energy Regulatorā€™s (AER) 2023Ā annual report. Oil and natural gas production continued to rise (on a volume basis) in 2023, on the heels of steady increases over the preceding half decade. However, the dollar value of Albertaā€™s oil and gas production fell in 2023, as the surging prices recorded in 2022 following Russiaā€™s invasion of Ukraine retreated. Capital spending in the provinceā€™s energy sector reached $30 billion in 2023, making it the leading driver of private-sector investment. And completion of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project has opened new offshore export avenues for Canadaā€™s oil industry and should boost Albertaā€™s energy production and exports going forward.

In a world striving to address climate change, Albertaā€™s hydrocarbon-heavy energy sector faces challenges. At some point, the world may start to consume less oil and, later, less natural gas (in absolute terms). But such ā€œpeakā€ consumption hasnā€™t arrived yet, nor does it appear imminent. While the demand for certain refined petroleum products is trending down in some advanced economies, particularly in Europe, we should take a broader global perspective when assessing energy demand and supply trends.

Looking at the worldwide picture, Goldman Sachsā€™ 2024 global energy forecast predicts that ā€œoil usage will increase through 2034ā€ thanks to strong demand in emerging markets and growing production of petrochemicals that depend on oil as the principalĀ feedstock. Global demand for natural gas (including LNG) will also continue to increase, particularly since natural gas is the least carbon-intensive fossil fuel and more of it is being traded in the form of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Against this backdrop, there are reasons to be optimistic about the prospects for Albertaā€™s energy sector, particularly if the federal government dials back some of the economically destructive energy andĀ climate policiesĀ adopted by the lastĀ government. According to the AERā€™s ā€œbase caseā€ forecast, overall energy output will expand over the next 10 years. Oilsands output is projected to grow modestly; natural gas production will also rise, in part due to greater demand for Albertaā€™s upstream gas from LNG operators in British Columbia.

The AERā€™s forecast also points to a positive trajectory for capital spending across the provinceā€™s energy sector. The agency sees annual investment rising from almost $30 billion to $40 billion by 2033. Most of this takes place in the oil and gas industry, but ā€œemergingā€ energy resources and projects aimed at climate mitigation are expected to represent a bigger slice of energy-related capital spending going forward.

Like many other oil and gas producing jurisdictions, Alberta must navigate the bumpy journey to a lower-carbon future. But the world is set to remain dependent on fossil fuels for decades to come. This suggests the energy sector will continue to underpin not only the Alberta economy but also Canadaā€™s export portfolio for the foreseeable future.

Jock Finlayson

Senior Fellow, Fraser Institute
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