Equalization Payments Simulator

This simulator calculates equalization payments to each province under alternative scenarios. Initial values are the data used to determine actual payments for the selected fiscal year: a weighted three-year average of provincial fiscal capacity, lagged two years. All values correspond to that average, not to individual years.

To use it, change a province's non-resource fiscal capacity or resource revenues, adjust the program's rules, or try one of the selected policy changes. Payments update instantly. For background on the program, see Tombe, “Final and Unalterable – But Up for Negotiation” (2018) 66:4 Canadian Tax Journal 871–917.

Total equalization
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Fixed-growth-rule amount
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Receiving provinces
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How to cite: Trevor Tombe, Finances of the Nation Equalization Payments Simulator, last modified , http://www.financesofthenation.ca/equalization.

Questions or comments? Please email Trevor Tombe (University of Calgary) at ttombe@ucalgary.ca.

Thanks: This simulator would not be possible without many generous public servants and officials within Finance Canada providing the underlying equalization and fiscal capacity worksheets. Thank you.

Notes: The “best-of” provision refers to subsection 3.2(1)(b) of the Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act. Disable this to ignore that subsection. Turning off the three-year moving average means the calculations are based on the latest fiscal year for which data were available; for example, for 2026/27 payments the latest fiscal year with data is 2024/25. Adjusting for price level differences uses the average cost of goods and services in each province to compare “real” fiscal capacity rather than “nominal”. The demographic adjustment changes population levels to a measure of “effective population”, based on a 60/40 average of actual populations and age-specific national health spending per capita weighted populations. The GDP approach apportions total revenues according to nominal GDP.

“Actual program” comparisons use the selected fiscal year with all inputs and program rules at their actual values. The calculations do not include Nova Scotia Offshore Accord offset payments. These do not affect actual payments made during the fiscal years reported here, but may matter modestly in certain counterfactual scenarios. There are also minor differences between these calculations and official values, since this simulator uses banker's rounding (rather than commercial rounding) in various stages.