The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) responded to the Alberta government’s 2018 budget today by raising red flags about the province’s ballooning debt, failure to control spending and reliance on another boom in order to balance the budget.
“The government is still on pace to more than triple the debt after just four years in office,” said CTF Alberta Director Colin Craig. “Taxpayers should give their kids and grandkids a big hug because they’re the ones who are going to get stuck with the bill for cleaning up this mess.”
Since the Notley government took over, spending has increased every year and is now up 16.1 per cent. Even though Alberta has half a million fewer people, it still spends more than British Columbia:
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Alberta |
British Columbia |
Spending |
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Population (2017) |
Depending on another boom:
In order to reach a balanced budget by 2023, the provincial budget is depending on the following very optimistic assumptions:
“The government is counting on another boom to balance the budget,” added Craig. “That’s like depending on winning the lottery to pay for your retirement. It’s reckless.”
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