More than three-quarters of Albertans believe they give more than they get in confederation, and nearly one-third of Canadians agree with them. Those polled offered “excessive bureaucracy and regulation for resource projects and unfair equalization formulas” as the primary reasons.
If Alberta thinks they’re losing, who do they think is winning? A remarkable 88 percent of Albertans believe Quebec gets more than their fair share. So do a majority of Canadians in every province or region outside of Quebec. Even Quebecers are more likely to name themselves (21 percent) than any other province as the biggest beneficiaries of confederation. Overall, 53 percent of Canadians would agree, though 24 percent would choose Ontario and 17 percent think Atlantic Canada rides a federal gravy train.
Perception is one thing, but reality is…the same, at least in this case. Consider, in 2016, Alberta sent $49 billion of taxes to Ottawa, but received just $27.2 billion back in federal spending. This gap of $21.8 billion was $5,265 per Albertan. Meanwhile, Quebec paid $50.3 billion in federal taxes but received $66.4 billion. That’s a $16.1 billion boon!
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