Monday, July 22, 2019

Alberta has it pretty good, so stop whining already

The last few years have seen an awful lot of whining from one province in particular, Alberta. It seems we are constantly listening to complaints about how hard the province is having it due to low oil prices, and how the rest of Canada owes it a huge debt.
Well, it turns out that, even in an era of low oil prices, Alberta actually has it pretty good, certainly compared to the rest of Canada. The latest StatsCan figures of median household incomes for major Canadian cities show that Calgary households earn $99,583 in constant 2015 dollars before tax, and Edmonton $94,447, as compared to Toronto's $78,373, Vancouver's $72,662, Halifax's $69,533, and  Montreal's $61,790.
These are median figures, so obviously some do better and some do worse, but they are a pretty good comparison across the country, and they show what most people outside Alberta already thought: Alberta has it pretty good and should stop whining.

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