The federal equalization program and per-capita block grants such as the Canada Health Transfer and Canada Social Transfer have their critics. But equalization helps to prevent outmigration from “have-not” provinces, and block grants in effect substitute federal taxes for less efficient provincial ones. Read this articleEvaluation of federal transfers to the provinces
Economic and fiscal disruptions from the pandemic may soon reveal an unintended quirk in Canada’s equalization program: falling resource revenues in Saskatchewan or Newfoundland and Labrador may cause Ontario to become a recipient province. The case for changes to equalization is growing stronger. It would be unfortunate if Alberta’s referendum distracted from that. Read this articleCOVID — not Alberta’s referendum — should motivate changes to the equalization program
Canada’s equalization program is one of the most important federal transfers — and one of the most misunderstood. A new tool from Finances of the Nation opens the black box and understand how it works, how it doesn’t, and what the future might hold. Read this articleA New Tool to Understand Equalization Payments in Canada
