Alberta has suffered a financial drain of $244.6 billion to Canadian federalism between 2007 and 2022 (Fraser Institute). In 2022 alone, Albertans paid $14.2 billion more in federal revenues than was returned in federal spending (Fraser Institute). Since the 1960s, the equalization system has funnelled over $631 billion eastward (University of Calgary). These sums tell a story of unbuilt hospitals, unfunded doctors, and healthcare withheld from Albertans.Hospitals Alberta Never Got Calgary’s South Health Campus cost $1.31 billion to build (CTV). In 2022 alone, Alberta’s $14.2 billion outflow could have built eleven hospitals of that size. Between 2007 and 2022, the $244.6 billion drain could have built 187 hospitals. Since the 1960s, the $631 billion siphoned away could have financed 482 hospitals. These comparisons are based on more recent construction costs. At historical prices — such as Edmonton’s Royal Alexandra Hospital, completed in 1963 for just $9 million (Global) — Alberta could have built far more..Operating Costs Alberta Could Have FundedAn acute care bed costs about $1,500 per day, or $547,500 per year, to operate (AHS). In 2022, Alberta’s outflow could have funded 25,900 beds, the equivalent of 104 full-sized hospitals. From 2007 to 2022, the drain could have funded 29,800 beds annually, or 119 hospitals every year. Since the 1960s, the cumulative loss could have funded 18,600 beds annually, equal to 74 hospitals per year.Family Physicians Alberta Could Have FundedThe average family physician in Alberta earns $329,600 per year (Indeed, August 2025). In 2022, the federal government’s fiscal transfers drained Alberta of enough funds to pay for 43,100 family doctors. Between 2007 and 2022, the annual average could have funded 49,500 doctors. Since the 1960s, the total outflow could have funded 30,900 doctors per year. All figures use current salaries for comparability..Surgeons Alberta Could Have FundedA general surgeon in Alberta earns $486,469 annually (Job Bank). In 2022, Alberta’s outflow could have funded 29,200 surgeons. From 2007 to 2022, the annual average could have funded 33,500 surgeons. Since the 1960s, the cumulative drain could have funded 20,900 surgeons each year. All figures use current salaries for comparability..Nurses Alberta Could Have HiredRegistered nurses at the top of the pay scale earn $105,807 per year (UNA). In 2022, Alberta’s outflow could have paid 134,200 nurses. Between 2007 and 2022, the annual average could have paid 154,100 nurses. Since the 1960s, the cumulative loss could have funded 96,200 nurses every year..The Healthcare Alberta Was DeniedThese numbers reveal the scale of healthcare infrastructure Albertans have already paid for but been denied by a system that benefits Ottawa at Alberta's expense. Critics may respond that these outflows funded federal programs and services. Yet, even after accounting for the value of those services, the scale of the net transfer remains so vast that it represents a clear loss of fiscal capacity for Alberta. Others argue that Alberta should have saved more during resource booms, but the cumulative drain has consistently handicapped the province’s ability to build financial cushions and invest in long-term priorities.Year after year, billions were extracted under equalization instead of being reinvested in hospitals, clinics, doctors, and nurses. Every facility not built, every physician seat left empty, and every shortage of nurses or surgeons is not the result of a lack of resources, but of a lack of control over Alberta’s own wealth. Albertans do not lack the money to fund a world-class healthcare system. We lack the sovereignty to keep our own dollars at home. Equalization is not neutral — it diverts billions that could otherwise remain in Alberta to fund our own healthcare system. Had these funds stayed in the province, they could have been building hospitals, staffing clinics, and saving lives. Albertans deserve better — because we’ve already paid for it.
