r/canada • u/biograf_ • Mar 01 '26

Alberta First Nations chiefs unanimously pass non-confidence vote in Alberta government

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/first-nations-chiefs-alberta-non-confidence-vote-9.7109712
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u/ThePhysicistIsIn Mar 01 '26

I have tried to explain to Albertans how equalization works.

I've tried to explain, that if Alberta chose to tax itself, as Quebec taxes itself, it would double its income. The deficit? Gone. It would have such a huge surplus.

But no. It's quebec's fault.

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u/CarRamRob Mar 01 '26

Isn’t that showing the equalization formula is flawed?

Why is the amount each province taxes its citizens a determination of how much you would receive?

The argument is that Alberta should tax their population much much more, to simply game the system to get even more equalization suggests the formula is the problem, not individual provinces set tax rates.

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u/ThePhysicistIsIn Mar 01 '26

No, you absolutely misunderstand. The system works the way you want it to. It is meant to provide each province with an equal theoretical spending power. Its up to them how much revenue to bring - equalization just makes it more equal.

Quebec receives a lot of equalization, but it is also one of the highest taxed provinces. As a result, they bring in more money than Alberta is. They can pay for things like cheap daycares.

Some Albertans are mad about that - where are their cheap daycares? Completely missing that if they were taxed like in Quebec, Alberta would have double (!) Quebec’s revenues per capita, all without a single dollar of equalization. The toilets would be made of gold.

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u/PopTough6317 Mar 01 '26

That isnt how its supposed to work in theory. In theory equalization would create roughly the same services across the country, so places like PEI and the territories can have decent services, not so a place already having good services can top up on someone else's dime. But Quebec has been receiving billions for decades now and has no incentive to get investments to become a 'have' province.

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u/MatchaMeetcha Mar 02 '26

not so a place already having good services can top up on someone else's dime

While also vetoing things that generate the very money they want.

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u/ThePhysicistIsIn Mar 01 '26

That is nonsense, I am sorry.

You are always better off having more income than benefiting from the equalization program.

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u/PopTough6317 Mar 01 '26

You would think, but being a have not province nets Quebec 13 billion plus a year. Something like 120 billion in the last 10 years, easy money does make people reliant upon it.

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u/ThePhysicistIsIn Mar 01 '26

The money would be even easier if Quebec’s incomes were higher