You know Albertans are in trouble when their premier starts quoting economists. Normally, our neighbours view that profession as somewhere to the left of Fidel Castro.
Yet there was Premier Jim Prentice the other day, claiming he couldn’t balance the budget because economists said it would cause a recession. Alberta, the premier insisted, had no choice but to run a staggering $5-billion deficit.
Where to start? Well, how about some inconvenient facts.
In the mid-1990s, one of Prentice’s forebears, Ralph Klein, slashed the public sector. On a per-capita basis, corrected for inflation, Alberta’s expenditures fell something like 16 per cent over a five-year period.
And the economy promptly folded like a tent, right? Well no. Provincial GDP surged nearly 40 per cent in response to this long-overdue mucking of the byre.
Prentice has plenty of room to cut. He leads the most extravagant, lavish, feckless government in Canada’s history, by far.
And with Pierre Trudeau in the mix, that’s quite an accomplishment.
Alberta spends $1,300 more, per person, than the national average. Budget tables show it spending 22 per cent more than B.C., per capita.
Indeed, forget per capita. Despite their smaller population, they outspend B.C., period.
Another inflection point? You know you’re in trouble when Quebec leaves you in the dust.
La belle province just brought down a balanced budget, courtesy of, of all things, a Liberal administration. And in Quebec, “Liberal” actually means liberal, not conservative like B.C.’s governing party.
I confess I couldn’t believe it. I figured Quebec would balance its budget some time after Ontario does, which at the present rate of progress means never. But Premier Philippe Couillard, apparently, believes in governing.
Prentice, on the other hand, seems more comfortable with the Alison Redford tradition of splendid isolation from reality. Not that he lacks company. For decades now, starting with Peter Lougheed in the 1970s, Alberta’s governments have deliberately projected a “we’re better than you” mentality.
The border between Saskatchewan and Alberta runs through the town of Lloydminster.
There was apparently a policy in Edmonton that any public facility built on the Alberta side of the border had to be grander and more expensive than its counterpart across the line.
That is to say, you were meant to notice the difference between ever-struggling Saskatchewan, and the oil-rich emirate to the west. A statement was being made.
I worked for a time with an interprovincial committee that tried to hold the line on public-sector compensation around the country.
The idea was that we would all get together and agree not to screw one another in salary negotiations.
But it was hopeless. Someone once said that government’s don’t have friends, only interests. And Alberta’s interests were in showing poorer provinces what real money looks like.
Time and again, the process foundered on these displays of regal opulence. The message: We’re doing it because we can.
And that pretty much sums up Alberta’s theory of fiscal management these 40 years. Economy is not a concept.
Prentice might get lucky. Oil prices could rebound before he has to start working for a living.
Even so, the man has blown a heaven-sent opportunity. Saudi Arabia handed him all the excuse he needed to rein in government excess and reshape his public sector.
With no domestic opposition to speak of, here was an offshore enemy to blame. He could have wrung his hands, wept profusely and taken out the knife.
Instead, he has let it get away. If this near-death experience isn’t enough to scare Albertans to their senses, who knows what will?
But here is what we can say. In this tale of two provinces — Alberta and Quebec — the fleur-de-lis has conquered.
