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A formal system of equalization payments was first introduced in 1957. [7] [ Notes 1]. The original program had the goal of giving each province the same per-capita revenue as the two wealthiest provinces, Ontario and British Columbia, in three tax bases: personal income taxes, corporate income taxes and succession duties (inheritance taxes).
On October 18, 2021, a referendum was held in Alberta, Canada on two questions, whether equalization payments should be eliminated from the Constitution of Canada, and whether the province should observe daylight saving time year-round. [1] The referendum was held as part of the 2021 Alberta municipal elections and the Senate nominee election ...
Equalization payments do not, technically, involve wealthy provinces making payments to poor provinces, although in practice this is what happens, via the federal treasury. As an example, a wealthy citizen in New Brunswick, a so-called "have not" province, pays more into equalization than a poorer citizen in Alberta, a so-called "have" province.
The outcome gave Alberta's United Conservative Party government and embattled Premier Jason Kenney a mandate to negotiate with other provinces about an equalization payments formula that is widely ...
Until the 2009–2010 fiscal year, Ontario was the only province to have never received equalization payments; in 2009-2010 Ontario received 347 million dollars, [7] while Newfoundland, which has received payments since the program's creation, is now a so-called "have" province, and is now a net contributor and does not receive payments.
In the face of these long-term regional disparities, the Government of Canada redistributes some of its revenues through unconditional equalization payments and finances the delivery of comparable levels of government services through the Canada Health Transfer and the Canada Social Transfer.
The Alberta Sovereignty Act and the Saskatchewan First Act were both introduced in November 2022. [28] [29] Alberta and Saskatchewan have made other efforts to distance themselves from Ottawa. Both have frequently criticized the equalization payment scheme as unfair.
Alberta separatism comes from the belief that many Albertans hold that they are culturally and economically distinct from the rest of Canada, particularly Central Canada and Eastern Canada, because of economic imbalances whereby Alberta is a net over-contributor to the system of equalization payments in Canada. [6]