CALGARY—Canada’s equalization program has cost taxpayers—including taxpayers in “have” provinces such as Alberta—$2.1 billion more in equalization payments since 2017 due to a program design flaw, finds a new study released today by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank.
“Most Canadians likely assume that if the fiscal disparity between richer and poorer provinces shrinks, equalization payments also shrink—but currently, that’s not how the program works,” said Ben Eisen, Fraser Institute senior fellow and co-author of Why is Equalization Still Growing?