REGINA - The opposition New Democrats have joined the call to address the equalization formula in Canada.
At a news conference at the Saskatchewan Legislature Monday, Opposition Leader Carla Beck, along with their critic Trent Wotherspoon, said they have written letters to all federal leaders including all the Liberal leadership candidates, seeking a commitment to make equalization fair.
“Canada is on the cusp of a federal election. Yet we've heard nothing from any of the federal leaders when it comes to reforming our unfair equalization formula,” Beck said.
“Saskatchewan is currently ranked in last place when it comes to funding for healthcare and education, yet equalization is unfairly bankrolling new roads, new schools in places like Quebec and Ontario. This is something that makes zero sense and it doesn't pass a basic test of fairness.”
Beck said they wanted the system to be fair, meaning “all natural resource revenue, both renewable and non-renewable, and including Ontario and Quebec hydroelectric power, should be treated and counted the same within the formula to make it fairer and to make it constitutional.”
“As I said, Saskatchewan will always do our part to be part of this wonderful country, but it's time for federal leaders to recognize the contributions that Saskatchewan has made to our confederation.”
Beck also pointed to the lawsuit brought by the previous NDP government against the Stephen Harper government on equalization, a lawsuit that was later abandoned by the Sask. Party after they took office. Beck told reporters that in the year their equalization lawsuit was launched, the amount Saskatchewan would have benefited would have been about $800 million.
“The Sask Party can't be trusted to push this issue,” said Beck. “We needed real commitment to reform equalization from all the federal leaders and to deliver fairness to Saskatchewan people. Fixing equalization will not only make Saskatchewan but also the Canadian Constitution Confederation fairer.”
Premier Moe raised equalization issue on social media
The NDP news conference comes in the wake of what seems to be renewed interest by the Sask Party on the equalization issue, at least on social media.
Last week, Premier Scott Moe posted on X the numbers the various provinces were receiving from equalization, noting that Saskatchewan didn’t receive any.
“The federal government has announced equalization payments for 2025 and once again, SK, AB and BC will be helping support the rest of Canada,” Moe posted.
In a separate post, Moe stated: “Some people have been wondering how much each province receives per capita in equalization payments. Four provinces will get more than $3,000 this year for every resident. While SK, AB and BC will get $0 per resident.”
When asked about the seeming interest by Moe in the issue, Beck had this to say:
“The Saskatchewan NDP has been clear and consistent for over two decades when it comes to this issue. That we need to see fairness with the treatment of renewable and non-renewable resource revenue. This has not been the case with the Sask Party. We saw that when Stephen Harper came to power, who broke his promise after being elected, and then we saw the Saskatchewan Party government roll over and drop the lawsuit. We need consistency. This is about fairness and I think, as I said, every Saskatchewan person needs to know that they have leaders provincially who will fight consistently for this issue but moreover, and this was the point of the letter that we've written, that Saskatchewan voters have the right for clarity for all of those who would seek to be Prime Minister of this country when it comes to this very important issue to Saskatchewan people.”
In an interview with Â鶹´«Ã½AV last week, University of Regina Professor of Politics and International Studies Tom McIntosh found the timing of Moe’s posts on the equalization issue to be curious.
“This is an odd time, I think, to be picking that fight with the federal government,” said McIntosh, pointing to the likely prospect of a change of government.
He noted that within “six months at the latest, then there will be a new government in Ottawa," pointing out it was likely that "the party that wrote the equalization formula that Scott Moe doesn't like will be back in power. It will be much more difficult to be as belligerent towards the federal government as Moe has been over the last few years, simply because they share a political base, they share a vote base.
“… And so I was sort of like: I'm not sure why Moe chose this moment. Maybe it was just because the equalization numbers came out and this was an issue that both he and others, including the government of Alberta, have raised often in the past. But it seems sort of ill-timed in that I'm not sure (Pierre). Poilievre is going to be that much suddenly more open to changing the formula in any significant way.”
