Equalization in focus as federal election nears and Alberta, Sask. premiers push for change

With a federal election on the horizon, Alberta and Saskatchewan's premiers are again making noise about the country's contentious equalization program.

The federal equalization program is funded through general revenues, mostly sourced through federal taxes, and is used to ensure comparable services across the country. 

Last week, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe took aim at the program, with Smith charging the current arrangement isn't fair or sustainable. 

While the Liberal government has locked in the equalization formula for payments to provinces until 2029, it's unclear how other parties might approach the issue. 

Though the equalization program goes through five-year renewal cycles, a new government could decide to change course on the 2029 plan. 

So far, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has not marked out his plans for the program. When CBC News asked whether a Poilievre government would extend the current formula or enact changes, the Conservative Party pointed to comments the leader made in March.

"You'll have to wait for our platform to get our plans on all of these types of subjects. I think we all share the goal of enriching all of the provinces by unleashing the free enterprise economy, so that we develop more revenues to fund our programs," he said.

CBC News has requested comment from the federal NDP regarding its position on equalization.

The program has long drawn criticism from provincial officials.

In Alberta, it was the subject of a 2021 referendum that was part of the United Conservative Party's platform in the 2019 provincial election under Jason Kenney.

Nearly 62 per cent of voters said they wanted to remove the equalization section from the Constitution.

On her weekly phone-in radio show Your Province Your Premier on Saturday, Smith said she believed other provinces increasingly were getting involved in a discussion around changing the program.

"What I'm delighted to see is that other provinces have begun to speak up … we cannot continue to be the principal funder of expensive social programs in Quebec. Let's call it what it is," Smith said.

"They've got to either right-size the amount that they're spending, or they've got to improve their economy so that they can generate more of their own tax revenue."