The Sherwood Park Chamber of Commerce was pleased to attend the Economic Society of Northern Alberta’s lunch event at the Chateau Lacombe on February 18, 2020. Acclaimed University of Calgary Associate Professor Trevor Tombe discussed Canada’s Equalization Formula from an Alberta Perspective. Mr. Tombe took the time to give an overview of how Canada’s equalization formula works and addressed many misconceptions and rhetoric surrounding it. The talk was very informative and brought a valuable balanced perspective to the discussion around the complexities of equalization, and Alberta’s economic contributions to other regions in Canada.

Mr. Tombe was joined by Al O’Brien, who chaired the Expert Panel on Equalization and Territorial Formula Financing in 2006. This panel released the “O’Brien Report” that presented 18 recommendations on equalization that were primarily adopted by the federal government.

The Sherwood Park Chamber would like to thank the Economic Society of Northern Alberta for putting on a timely and informing lunch event! For further reading, you can download Trevor Tombe’s presentation, and for more informative economic data and analysis from you can follow him on Twitter @trevortombe.