kat

Lets actually sit down and do the math on Alberta separation, because it seems like nobody else wants to. Right now, Alberta’s budget is roughly balanced. About $70-75 billion in, same amount out. It’s not perfect, but it works. The second you leave Canada, you don’t just stop sending money to Ottawa. You inherit the whole damn machine they were running on your behalf: borders, military, pensions, Employment Insurance, courts, federal policing, Indigenous obligations, foreign affairs, currency, central banking, all that shit. That’s not some rounding error. That’s an extra $30 to $60 billion a year in new costs slamming onto a province that was already spending every dollar it made. So now you’re looking at $105-135 billion in annual spending against $75 billion in revenue on a good year. That’s a $30-60 billion hole every single year, and nobody in the separation movement wants to talk about it. And it gets worse. You’re also picking up $120-150 billion in inherited federal debt. That’s another $4-6 billion a year just in interest payments before you’ve even hired your first border agent or opened a single embassy. Where the hell is that money supposed to come from? How do you close a gap that big? You’d need brutal spending cuts, a new sales tax, higher income taxes, higher corporate taxes, and you’d better pray oil stays above $80 a barrel. Even then you’re white-knuckling it. The real kicker is the oil revenue swings like crazy. Your new government costs sure as hell don’t. You can’t call up the military or the pension guys and say “Hey, prices are down this month, take some time off.” The bills keep coming whether WTI cooperates or not. And now there’s no Bank of Canada to bail you out when shit gets sideways. You’re on your own. Good luck with that. This isn’t about politics or which team you’re on. It’s just arithmetic. You want to be pissed at Ottawa? Fine, there’s plenty of reasons to be fucking pissed. But don’t confuse being pissed off with actually having a plan. Right now the separation crowd is long on anger and real short on math that adds up.