Provincial budget season is mostly done, and the picture across the country is not pretty. From BC to Nova Scotia, provinces are swimming in red ink. The causes vary by region: falling commodity prices in the west, tariff exposure in central Canada, structural spending growth everywhere, but the underlying dynamic is the same: expenditure commitments made during different times are colliding with a revenue environment that can no longer support them.
Today Ken Boessenkool surveys the four big risks that could make things worse, Shannon Phillips examines Alberta’s self-inflicted revenue problem, and Ben Woodfinden makes the case that the real driver, healthcare spending, is the one nobody wants to name:
- BOESSENKOOL: Red Ink and Four Risks on the Horizon
- PHILLIPS: The Tax Advantage Alberta Can’t Afford
- WOODFINDEN: The (Healthcare) Spending Problem Nobody Wants to Name
