Alberta: The New Ontario

[Asher]

http://www.saturdaynight.ca/feature/article.cfm?listing_id=61

Lots of good articles from the Summer 2005 issue of Saturday Night magazine. Got to read them this morning while waiting for an oil change, and they're online as well.

The New Ontario
In Alberta they call him King Ralph. Increasingly, we are all his subjects. During his 13 years in power, Premier Ralph Klein has presided over Alberta’s breakneck transformation from oilpatch hinterland to global economic Goliath. Canada’s traditional balance of power has reached a tipping point: as its 100th birthday approaches, Alberta is mounting a sustained challenge to Ontario as the leading partner in Confederation

A Tale of Two Cities: Alberta’s civic rivalry — Edmonton versus Calgary — is 100 years old and as nasty as ever.

Market Muscle: Alberta’s economy is so robust, the other provinces anxiously monitor its every move.

Corridor of Power: The 300-kilometre stretch between Edmonton and Calgary is becoming the next southern Ontario.

From Protest to Power: Sooner or later, Alberta-style populism will come to dominate the nation’s political culture.

Alberta versus Ontario: Comparing Alberta and Ontario... By numbers...

Some of the numbers are pretty interesting.
GDP per capita: Alberta is $58,537, Ontario is $41,768
Unemployment: Alberta is 4.2%, Ontario is 6.8%
Non-emergency surgery wait time: Alberta is 4 weeks, Ontario is 4.3 weeks
Volunteerism rates: Alberta is 39%, Ontario is 25%
National Parks area: Alberta has 54,085 sq.km, Ontario hs 2,081 sq.km
Stanley Cups since 1980: Alberta has 6, Ontario has 0 (this is the most important figure of them all)

And for Calgary vs Toronto:
Car insurance: Calgary's average is $1,815, Toronto is $2,655
Monthly transit passes: Calgary is $70, Toronto is $98.75
Bottle of cognac: Calgary: $45.96 for 750 ml, Toronto: $75.15 for 750 ml
Smog alert days in 2004: Calgary: 1, Toronto: 14
Average rent: Calgary: $806/mo, Toronto: $1,052/mo

[JohnT]

Congratulations!

It's nice being in that period of time where incomes shoot up, but prices lag in relation. Don't worry - your merchants will soon figure it out.

[chequita guevara]

Sucks you have to live in the cold.

[Asher]

Originally posted by chegitz guevara
Sucks you have to live in the cold.

Supposed to be a nice 75F/24C today.

[DinoDoc]

Che: At least he doesn't have to deal with hurricanes batting down his door every year.

[chequita guevara]

Better hurricanes than blizzards.

[JohnT]

Originally posted by chegitz guevara
Sucks you have to live in the cold.

Not if global warming has its say.

[Ben Kenobi]

Ontario is cold too.

Now, if you were comparing Vancouver, then we'd have an argument.

[Asher]

The New Ontario: Market Muscle
By Todd Hirsch


Like the family that wins the lottery, Alberta is getting some envious looks from others on the block. After all, Albertans didn’t earn their wealth: it’s an accident of geography that they sit atop massive reserves of crude, and a market anomaly that oil prices are hovering around $50 (U.S.) per barrel. Nor is it the first time Alberta’s lucky numbers have come up. Back in the 1970s, oil prices (adjusted for inflation) were even higher than they are now, but the boom didn’t last. Local bumper stickers prayed: “Please, Lord, let there be another oil boom and we promise not to piss it all away.”

It will be different this time — it already is. Alberta makes up about one-tenth of Canada’s population, but its economy accounts for a disproportionate 14.5 per cent of Canada’s economic output. Its current GDP per capita is $58,537; Ontario’s is $41,768, while Quebec’s is well back at $35,402. Alberta’s four per cent unemployment rate is just over half that of Ontario’s, which is all the more remarkable given Alberta’s rapid population growth: there seem to be jobs for everyone who comes.

Alberta’s immense wealth is changing the dynamics of the national economy. Its appetite for skilled tradespeople has driven wages up nationwide and produced labour shortages in other parts of the country. There are other — for some, more disquieting — distortions to come. The Alberta government will boost health care spending by a whopping 8.6 per cent this year, about five times the rate of inflation in the province. Presumably the money will translate into more generous salaries for doctors and nurses, and better working conditions in the form of new hospital facilities. Other provinces, all competing to attract medical professionals, may be forced to follow suit whether they can afford it or not. Notably, Ontario has reintroduced health care premiums for its citizens, while Alberta has eliminated them for its seniors.

Alberta is also pumping billions into higher education, one of the smartest investments a government can make. A trained workforce, innovations in science and technology, new entrepreneurial ideas — all are essential to diversify any economy and compete globally. Over the next three years, funding for advanced education will increase by 30 per cent to $1.9 billion, or about $589 per person in Alberta. In Ontario, spending on post-secondary education is forecast to reach only $438 per person by 2008.

You could even argue that other provinces hold Alberta back. The Klein government recently pledged to lower corporate taxes, then broke its promise — even though it can easily afford the cut. Why renege? In part because it would really put the screws to Saskatchewan, which is only barely balancing its budget and can’t afford tax cuts. That province’s exodus of people and business to Alberta would only worsen.

Other provinces in similar fiscal situations wouldn’t be amused either. The final slap in the face is that Alberta is debt-free. Ontario still carries a net debt of $145 billion; every year, its interest payments eat up $10 billion, and its prosperity increasingly depends upon Alberta’s. The province holds 80 per cent of this country’s oil, and all the cars and trucks made by Ontario’s powerful auto industry need that oil to keep running. For the time being, Alberta’s economy may be a one-trick pony, but we’re all riding that pony now.

[St Leo]

It's going to be 30C in Toronto, 24C in Vancouver, and 26C in Calgary today.

[Last Conformist]

Originally posted by chegitz guevara
Better hurricanes than blizzards.

If Albertan blizzards are the same kind of lameass affairs that Americans call blizzards, they're a good opportunity for a walk in the park with grandma.

[Starchild]

Alberta, a global economic goliath? Honey, you may be a big fish in a small confederation (and dont' forget all those Ontario dollars that bootstrapped you into existence when there was no oil being extracted) but you're not exactly playing in the same league as the Big Boys.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Starchild
Alberta, a global economic goliath? Honey, you may be a big fish in a small confederation (and dont' forget all those Ontario dollars that bootstrapped you into existence when there was no oil being extracted) but you're not exactly playing in the same league as the Big Boys.

You'd be surprised, Starchild.

Ontario didn't bootstrap Alberta into existence by the way, for all of 2 years Alberta received extremely modest subsidies, primarily for the agricultural community.

The oil boom was funded by American dollars, not from Ontario.

That's precisely why the NEP ****ed everything up so badly.

Ontario (and Quebec) nearly wiped Alberta from the map of significance as part of political jockeying, positioning, and stupidity.

The current trends are quite clear -- Alberta's population and economy are both growing much faster than any other province's. It won't be too long before Alberta controls 25% of the GDP with 15% of the population...

[JimmyCracksCorn]

*****-slapping arrogant Ontarians

[Flubber]

Originally posted by Asher
The current trends are quite clear -- Alberta's population and economy are both growing much faster than any other province's. It won't be too long before Alberta controls 25% of the GDP with 15% of the population...

yes and it is unlikely that those trends will reverse . With all the oil sands projects on the books, we are already talking about a tripling of production there by 2015 IIRC. There would probably be even more expansion there but the problem is that the boom is taking up all the construction capacity. Quite frankly Alberta would need many thousands more tradespeople to build everything that people want to build

I find it ironic that a country that still experiences unemployment high enough to be an issue in some regions has a very real labour shortage in other regions. I know that construction companies in Alberta have been recruiting in Candaa's east for the last few years and the number of available skilled tradespeople has pretty much evaporated. To be an unemployed tradesperson in Canada right now, you must be refusing to move because the work is out there . .. lots of it