Majority of Canadians support equalization, but think some provinces take 'unfair' advantage

Anja Karadeglija 

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 Provided by National Post The headquarters of the Canada Revenue Agency in Ottawa.


Two-thirds of Canadians are supportive of equalization, according to a new Postmedia/Leger poll conducted shortly after Albertans voted in favour of scrapping the program. However, a smaller majority also said that some provincial governments are taking unfair advantage of the program

Among the 1,554 Canadians polled, 25 per cent said they strongly supported equalization, a program under which the federal government redistributes tax revenue to ensure all provinces have similar levels of public services. A further 42 per cent said that they somewhat supported it.

In a referendum last month, 61.7 per cent of Albertans voted in favour of removing equalization from the constitution. Albertans are the largest contributors on average to the equalization program and the province has not received equalization payments since the 1960s.

SOUTHERN ALBERTA VOTED WITH THOSE NUMBERS, EDMONTON VOTED IN FAVOUR OF EQUALIZATION

THE TOTAL VOTER TURN OUT WAS LOW 39% SO THE NUMBER BEING QUOTED IS INCORRECT IN THE BIGGER PICTURE

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has made it clear that the referendum was a symbolic move to gain leverage for the province to “push hard to get a fair deal” in federal-provincial fiscal arrangements, as opposed to repealing equalization entirely. “The point of it is to get leverage for constitutional negotiations with the federal government about reform of the entire system of fiscal federalism, which treats Alberta so unfairly,” Kenney said prior to the referendum vote.

Kenney called the results of the vote a “powerful” statement. “We fully expect the prime minister to respect the constitutional amendment process and sit down and negotiate with Alberta in good faith,” he said when the result was released on Oct. 26.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said any such constitutional amendment requires “significant consensus across the country.” He pointed out taking out a section of the constitution would require the agreement of both the federal government and seven provinces representing at least 50 per cent of Canada’s population.

Here's what could replace equalization

Majority of Canadians believe equalization is unfair to Alberta: poll

Trudeau also criticized Kenney for the referendum, noting the last time the equalization formula was updated was under the government of former Prime Minister Stephen Harper, where Kenney was a cabinet minister.

The Leger online poll, conducted between Oct. 29 and Nov. 1, shows that both the so-called “have” provinces — which don’t receive money but whose federal tax contributions are used for equalization payments — and so-called “have not” provinces, which receive the payments, support the program.

The Leger poll showed 62 per cent of respondents living in “have” provinces supported equalization, as did 78 per cent of the respondents living in “have not” provinces.

However, it also showed that a majority of respondents in Alberta (52 per cent) think provinces that receive equalization take it “for granted” and are unappreciative. Alberta was the only province where a majority felt that way.

“It doesn’t look like there’s a whole lot of other provinces that are in a real rush to sort of reopen the current formula for equalization,” Leger executive vice-president Andrew Enns said.

However, 54 per cent of Canadians agreed that some provinces are unfairly taking advantage of the program, with 21 per cent strongly agreeing and 33 per cent somewhat agreeing. That sentiment was strongest in Alberta (72 per cent) and also in Atlantic Canada (66 per cent). Even in Quebec, the largest recipient of equalization, more respondents felt some provinces were taking unfair advantage of the program.

Only 17 per cent of Canadians disagreed that some provinces were taking advantage of equalization.

Though 53 per cent of the 174 Alberta respondents were supportive of equalization, 61 per cent said some provinces rely too much on equalization funding and are not doing enough to promote their own economic growth. Just over half of Albertans also said “have not” provinces take equalization for granted, compared to the national average of 35 per cent.

Meanwhile, a slim majority (51 per cent) felt that the federal government and all provinces should be a part of any discussion around changing equalization.