A Friend in Need

The first two sections document the extent of Alberta’s disproportionate contribution to Canada’s econom- ic growth in recent years and to the federal government’s fiscal balance, particularly over the 2004-2014 decade and prior to the major downturn in commodity prices that began in 2014 and have continued through the resulting recession. [...] Next, having established the extent of Alberta’s contribution to Can- adian prosperity and public finances during its period of strong economic growth, the paper’s third section considers what the rest of the country can now do to assist Alberta in its recovery. [...] Specifically, we discuss the need to accommodate the development of the pipeline infrastructure necessary to get Alberta’s most important product to the international market. [...] The rest of this section documents Alberta’s fiscal con- tribution to Confederation in recent years.4 The most discussed fiscal benefit that Albertans provide to the rest of Canada is its outsized contribution to the equalization program. [...] The difference between these and the “have-not” provinces is driven by the equalization payments outlined in table 1. As noted, the primary reason for Alberta’s disproportionate con- tribution to federal finances is that the province enjoys higher per-capita incomes than the rest of the country (as was the case even during the recent recession).