Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is taking a sledgehammer to Canada’s equalization formula, accusing Ottawa of showering recipient provinces with billions while Alberta taxpayers help bankroll a record $27.2-billion payout.
But while Smith repeatedly took aim at Ontario, she didn’t mention Quebec — the country’s largest equalization recipient, set to receive $13.9 billion in 2026–27.
“Stop cutting cheques to Ontario,” Smith declared Thursday, arguing the program has drifted far beyond its original purpose.
Smith says the formula’s automatic growth mechanism keeps pumping more money into equalization even when fiscal disparities between provinces narrow.
“We’ve calculated that there’s overcompensation to the have-not provinces of $7 billion over the last five years,” she said.
