After the Oil Rush: A Blueprint for Alberta’s Long-term Happiness.” C.D. Howe Institute e-brief

Albertans could be easily tempted to view the province’s abundant natural resources as an unmitigated blessing. The province’s economy has grown strongly in the past decade, as the market value of energy resources soared, with significant positive impacts within the province and across the country. A resource-driven boost to income and wealth, however, can present difficult fiscal challenges. Volatile world energy prices, future economic uncertainty, and political pressure to spend resource revenue quickly can make budget-setting a challenge and pose risks of serious mis-steps. Of particular concern for Alberta is that high energy prices and rapidly flowing resource revenues mask the province’s underlying fiscal position, undercut attempts at spending restraint, and risk leaving the province unprepared, either for market downturns or for an inevitable, eventual slowing of resource production. And Alberta’s fiscal institutions, in particular its welter of special funds and trusts, make it difficult for voters to get a clear view of whether and how resource revenue is being saved and spent. Putting in place a framework for coheren