Within minutes of the CAQ’s smashing electoral victory in Quebec, Alberta opposition leader Jason Kenney welcomed the new government with a reminder of their promise to build a “zero equalization” Quebec. “What I want to say to Quebecers is that a CAQ government will seek zero equalization. In this fiscal year alone La Belle Province will receive $11.7 billion out of a total equalization payout of $18.9 billion. A common gripe from Alberta (a disproportionate contributor to equalization) is that Quebec could break its equalization dependency by simply doing like Westerners and exploiting their natural resources. In fact, the equalization “pie” would remain about the same since payouts are tied to overall GDP growth rather than provincial need.

Source: National Post October 03, 2018 15:04 UTC