Premier Danielle Smith wades into politically shark-infested waters.
This time it’s over Albertans paying more into Ottawa than the province gets from Ottawa.
That neat all-Canadian trick is called equalization.
For many Albertans, equalization is a swear word. They spit when they say it.
They think: Here we go again. Alberta getting milked by the likes of Quebec. It never ends. That’s where the votes are.
That’s why even former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper didn’t come anywhere near slaughtering this sacred cow.
And in a vote in 2021 most Albertans casting a ballot wanted equalization payments punted from Canada’s Constitution.
Five years later, equalization is still alive and shovelling out the cash and many people are left wondering what their vote meant or was it just going through the motions.
Premier Smith says her ultimate goal is “every province should have a plan to stand on their own two feet and not rely on equalization at all.”
“Whether that’s a 5-year plan or a 10-year plan, it shouldn’t be much longer that, every single province should be able to be as independent as B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland.”
Smith admits she hasn’t made much headway on getting changes to equalization let alone getting provinces even an centimetre closer to getting off the equalization magic carpet ride.
“You’re asking the people at the table who are benefitting from it to change the program. Of course, they’re going to be opposed to it,” says Smith.
“But it’s still not fair. It creates division.”
No kidding.
Smith says equalization doesn’t look at a so-called have-not province’s spending when doling out the dough.
The Alberta premier says Quebec is spending thousands more a year per person than Alberta but they are the biggest snout at the equalization trough.
Smith says transfers of money go to Quebec “to pay for richer social programs than anyone else can afford. It’s not fair.”
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith speaks at a meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney in Calgary on Friday, May 15, 2026.
The premier adds the surplus dollars in the equalization pot go to top up provinces already getting equalization and Ontario, says Smith, was “next in line and they got about $700 million last year.”
Alberta received…hands up … zilch. The square root of squat.
An important question. I’ll spell it out. IMPORTANT QUESTION.
Does Smith believe realistically we will see a real change to equalization?
“I gave my best pitch to the prime minister.”
“It’s a serious issue, the fact equalization is administered so unfairly,” says Smith.
“People don’t like it when we’re treated unfairly.”
“I’ve put forward a paper on how to change it. There have been provinces who’ve gone to court to try to change it.”
The Alberta premier mentions the Saskatchewan premier.
“Scott Moe has proposed a way to change it. I’ve proposed a way to change it. In the end it’s going to be up to the prime minister to change it in a way that’s fair to the provinces.”
Smith repeats her objection.
“We shouldn’t be overcompensating provinces so they get to deliver more generous services than we’re able to afford.”
Hands up … how many think Prime Minister Mark Carney will overhaul equalization?
After all, the prime minister always tells us he’s an Albertan through and through, just a kid from Edmonton who loves his “home province.”
“It’s a federal program,” continues Smith.
“That’s part of the problem, right?”
Smith says Alberta and other provinces can have input into the rules around equalization but ultimately it’s up to Ottawa to decide what’s what.
So what does Smith say to those demanding a a big change to equalization or getting rid of it altogether.
“It’s not my program. It’s the federal program.”
The premier looks to possible happier times down the line.
“You know, maybe one day we will have more premiers leading more provinces that are net contributors and then we will be able to build a coalition that is a lot stronger.”
What is it? I can almost hear Judy Garland singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow.
What’s this? Back from the Land of Oz, here are the most recent words of Carney on this subject.
“We have an equalization agreement in place. Yes, we’re going to keep it in place. 2029 is the next update,” says the prime minister.
“A fundamental principle that drives this country is Canadians should have comparable services, all Canadians.”
So there.
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