'Remarkably similar': NDP, UCP policies on economy not as different as you'd think

Both parties claim they're better than the other at managing your money, but experts say there's little difference between them.

Alberta's two main political parties are working hard to sway undecided voters as they prepare to cast their ballots, and the election issue that many of those votes may depend on is the provincial economy.

Both parties claim they're better than the other at managing your money, but experts say there's little difference between them.  

"Both parties have differences in policies that, at the margin, deviate from each other, but do not represent large fundamental changes to the way that Alberta is going to operate," said Trevor Tombe, professor of economics at University of Calgary.

Notably, both parties are looking at significant spending promises, but with some guardrails for the future.

"They (both UCP and NDP) are intending to at least try to keep the lid on growing spending," said Jack Mintz, president’s fellow at the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy.

"The NDP have in their fiscal role, they promised that any resource revenues that are not needed to balance the budget [. . .] will be put towards savings, which I think is a good rule," Mintz says.

"The UCP in their last budget have adopted a fairly strict rule on spending, that it won't rise by more than prices and population and budgets will have to balance."