Never let an inconvenient fact get in the way of a good argument. That appears to be the approach of some provinces when discussing potential changes to Canada’s equalization program. This approach is made easier by the fact that equalization…

Ken Boessenkool is General Manager of Hill and Knowlton Alberta and has written numerous research papers on equalization and other subjects for the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies, the C.D. Howe Institute, the Institute of Intergovernmental Relations at Queens University,…

Equalization was designed to give cash to economically weaker provinces so that they would have total revenues that are comparable to a representative Canadian average. And at that task, the program works remarkably well. In doing so, however, the program…

In this the third paper in AIMS’ Equalization Series, author Kenneth J. Boessenkool discusses how equalization, although noble in intent, actually creates incentives for less-developed provinces to raise taxes and overtax their citizens. “Taxing Incentives: How equalization distorts tax policy in recipient…

The federal equalization program — which distributes dollars to poorer provinces based on their ability to raise revenues — is rather simple in theory and noble in intent. According to the Canadian Constitution, equalization exists to “ensure that provincial governments…