Alberta Futures Project

The collapse of oil and gas prices in 2014 combined with the rapid growth of U.S. oil production, difficulties in obtaining approval for infrastructure to reach new markets, and uncertainty regarding the impacts of climate change policies worldwide have proven to be strong headwinds for the province’s key energy sector.

Together, the negative effects on employment, incomes, and provincial government revenues have been substantial. To make matters worse, in early 2020 the Covid-19 pandemic struck a major blow to the lives and health of segments of the population and to livelihoods in many sectors. The result has been further employment and income losses, more reductions in government revenues, huge increases in government expenditures and debt. These events, combined with lagging productivity, rapid technological shifts, significant climate policy impacts and demographic trends, call for great wisdom, innovation, collective action, and leadership to put the province on the path of sustainable prosperity.

It is in this context that we commissioned a series of papers from a wide range of authors to discuss Alberta’s economic future, its fiscal future, and the future of health care.

The plan is that these papers will ultimately be chapters in three e-books published by the School of Public Policy.  However, in the interest of timeliness and encouraging discussion, we are releasing selected chapters at various intervals as pre-publications and organizing webinars on selected topics. The first e-book Alberta’s Economic and Fiscal Future released fall, 2021.

Publications

Webinars