globalnews.ca/news/10505393/alberta-declining-living-standards/
Alberta advantage slipping as living standards and wages decline: report
NewsHow could privatizing a necessity of life ever be beneficial to anyone except the wealthy?
Anyone who thinks we live in a free market society in Alberta, or Canada is delusional.
On top of that, it is well understood that free market ideals fall apart in inelastic markets like this; I mean, how could it work well when there’s a captive consumer base, lack of competition and guaranteed income stream?
It’s all part of the grift and we deserve better.
From the time of Klein, when the electricity production and distribution was privatized the question was WHY? The answer was always the same. There are some mysterious electrical producers just waiting for the opportunity to come to Alberta to create entirely new production facilities and transmission lines who will compete against the established companies and somehow offer their product at a lower price. 100% impossible, 100% BS lies from day one. Many of the cabinet minister of the time retired and went straight to the corporate board rooms of the utility companies with absolutely no shame and no consequences.
There are new electricity providers now. They're called renewables. And that's why the UCP needs to block them, so they don't cut into the profits of the O&G providers who can keep scamming us.
You mean like Kenney did with ATCO after uncapping rate increases? Amazing
Not just inelastic markets, but the whole notion of a free market economy was conceived before globalism, corporate behemoths and the stock market. The “free market” stops acting as the free market once consumers cease to be the driving force. When you answer to Wall Street, the desires of consumers is irrelevant.
Even more than that, the Free Market has never actually been proven to work in reality, just on paper. It’s as idealistic as Communism yet somehow we keep giving it a pass.
The most powerful imperialist country will always advocate for a "free market" which lets them dominate less wealthy countries with ease. First it was the Br*tish, now the US.
Competition wont make a difference. All parties involved will balance out to the same rates/costs, and then they will all raise prices at the same rate.
Probably true, however that is conspiracy and illegal. Not saying it doesn’t happen and won’t happen.
I do not think this is well understood among conservatives. Or it is and they think it's a good thing for people to get exploited, "job creators" and all that nonsense.
Yes, capitalists see labour as an exploitable commodity and a way to sustain growth, much like nature is simply an exploitable commodity (it isn’t). It’s a comparatively easy tap for them to turn on and corps are under a lot of pressure to grow. They literally don’t care.
And the worst part of it the web site they constantly advertise to claim you have a free choice of provider.the part they left out is that they are all uniformly ripping you off https://ucahelps.alberta.ca/cost-comparison-tool.aspx
All courtesy of the evil corrupt bitch
Yeah, the “competing” companies have to buy energy from the few companies that actually produce it. How much can they undercut prices and still exist? It’s a total scam, supported and promoted by our government. Again the question is WHY? Why are they doing this to us? It is certainly not for the general benefit or well being of the people of Alberta.
Why? Because having a few huge corporations running necessary services makes for good donors. Why let public institutions or even fair market competition interrupt that $$$
Money, they want money for themselves and no one else, they're selfish greedy fucks.
Ralph Klein sold the idea of our "wasteful government" squandering our tax dollars on administrative bloat, and that private businesses would have to compete with each other, lowering prices by decreasing the bloat.
What actually happened was our government sold it all off to an oil shack construction company for pennies on the dollar, and now we live under a pseudo-monopoly of a single supplier with reams of middlemen claiming their cut.
This is what I will never understand. “Hey this absolutely necessary public service is struggling because we keep purposefully underfunding it and being antagonistic to the workers in that industry. Privatizing it will definitely solve all the problems we caused!”
Yes, because when a private company whose sole goal is to maximize profit they will definitely run a necessity business ethically and without cutting services, staff, and wages to extract every penny possible.
Fucking drives me nuts. We have so many examples of properly funded and staffed crown corps doing extremely well to keep prices down (when not mismanaged on purpose) yet so many people still fall for the scam of “Privatization encourages more business and innovation! Public crown corps just steal your money for sub par services!”
It is a free market society, you just need a few hundred million to get started as a competitor. It's class warfare, why would they let US take control.
Funny how a lot of our problems seem to have gotten way worse over the last five years. I wonder what could have happened five years ago…
I wonder who's second on the list of ATCO's Board of Directors now.
Fucking scumbag.
Because it is; they created artificial scarcity of electricity by going from a capacity based system to a market based system simply because they could. This also lead to significantly more brown/black outs and buying extra electricity at a premium from places like BC during those times.
But yea, it’s because of wind or something…
Add to all that the unregulated companies billing for numerous fees to the extent that they do not have to sell ANY product at all. If a wire goes to your house, you pay every month. Probably enough for the company to make a profit. That should be eliminated.
In the past 5 years, I have only had one bill where the cost of the electricity was more than the various fees.
Yes, and we have to pay for all that advertising they do. And millions in donations.( Good I guess but it comes out of our pockets too) Before privatization you never saw a single ad for Epcor. Overnight their ads were everywhere!
Honestly unde the ndp we had so many great things. Under the UCP everything has been shredded
Well tbf, just look at it she's forcing you to go green . Less electricity used , less carbon footprint . Be a sport , embrace your part
If people used less electricity as it becomes more expensive.
Maybe they’ll turn the furnace down a degree but usage has only increased year over year statistically.
Alberta Advantage:
the lowest minimum wage in the country,
the highest provincial utilities other than the NT & NU,
the lowest per student spending in Canada,
the highest insurance in Canada. Avg car insurance in Alberta is 2.5 times Saskatchewan.
Your should not compare auto insurance against SK. Crown Corp, no fault insurance is VERY different than private.
That there is socialism (/s) (don't tell Brad Wall though. But given his history with drunk driving it probably works well for him.)
the premier of SK is Scott Moe and he's the drunk driver
Murderer too.
Manslaughter.
*Manslaughterer
J.H. Christ, no wonder Sask people come to Edmonton to see some bright lights...
Somehow I read this as "Jesus H Cishet" and now I'm keeping it.
Don't just keep it, spread it!
Well, I'm behind. Omg.
Yes you need minimum plate insurance in SK, but top-up with private is still VERY reasonable(like $200/year for 5Mil coverage) which still has auto considered less than AB.
It is different, and we should compare it cause maybe we should do it ourselves.
As much as I would love that, I doubt that will ever happen. Unfortunately. The UCP would never. But the insurance lobby will still mean that the NDP wouldn't either. Except if Nenshi is still No Fucks Nenshi.
It also sucks If you ever move somewhere with private insurance and have a claim on your insurance. I moved at 17 to AB after an accident that was NOT my fault. No fault, means insurance companies consider it YOUR fault. That hurt my bank account for years , until it fell off my abstract.
I can't wait for someone to come in here about electricity and be like "If you lock it in at 5 cents/ kw". They have deceptive advertising where it is actually 30 cents/kw because they don't include the $130 transmission fee in the equation of energy costs.
Alberta (investor-class) Advantage. It exists only to shelter the Investor Class.
Not if you're an investor in renewables
Weird how a government hell bent on privatizing everything seems to have made everything worse. Almost like privatization increases costs and is bad for everyone except shareholders...
No shit. As people are priced out of the major urban centres they will flock to the next reasonable market. Once Alberta gets too expensive Saskatchewan, Manitoba will experience large influxes of people who want to own a home.
Saskatchewan is Calling !!!!!
Unfortunately, too many Albertans see something like this they don't want to believe, they cry fake news and disregard it. Sad
Albertan here - it’s true.
That oil patch salary doesn’t go nearly as far anymore. Toys and vacations are a thing of the past unless you’re OK with not contributing to your retirement / ok with crippling debt
Ex oil patch guy here worked from 2012 to 2017. You're definitely right about the salary not going as far. But as far as not contributing to retirement and being okay with crippling debt that was happening back in my days too.
Don't houses cost pennies compared to Ontario? I'm considering moving to edmonton from Ontario. Seems like the same pay and half the cost of living. Is there something I'm missing?
Well wages in the oil patch as stayed the same since 2014, I talk to some ex coworkers they're essentially making the same as they did back in 2013 and 2014 before the big down turn. We had to take a 30% pay cut in 2015 and 2016 and we were the lucky ones. Although wages are back to 2014 levels , but when adjusting for inflation essentially a 30% pay cut. But homes prices has increased probably at least 40% sometimes more depending on the area ( especially calgary )since then.
Fake news and alternative facts are destroying the fabric of our society. I stumbled across a book on Amazon yesterday called ‘Not Stolen: The truth about colonization” or something, a completely baseless conjecture to alleviate white guilt and push back efforts of reconciliation, but people eat it up because they WANT to believe it.
True, the Alberta Advantage hasn't been releasing episodes nearly as regularly as they used to.
You mean turning down billions in renewable contracts has consequences? Who would think such a thing? Overwhelm out work force with low skilled immigrants and bust unions and suppress wages? Great idea. No way will this ever backfire on our economy.... no way.
We're just the sunniest, windiest region in the country with loads of wide-open space. Why on earth would we invest in renewable-energy infrastructure?
Views of pristine vistas is more important! /s
Unless there’s them coal beds in them vistas…
BuT tRuDeAu BrOuGhT iN tHe TfW. O boy
It irks me my tax dollars pay worker wages for large farm corporations and not a penny of that gets spent in canada.
Have you ever watch the movie the campaign there was a scene that mentions " in sourcing"? Yeah that's exactly what's going on here .
Yes way.
The Alberta Advantage Premier Edition:
Take on the role and fuck up the province as much as you want, As long as you wave a blue flag the rural chuds will vote you in over and over. Regardless of how many of their family members you put on the street or kill through shitty policy.
I spoke with a newly wed who just moved to Alberta from BC. She said it is not affordable to live here compared to her small town in BC. Her biggest issue is utilities and insurance.
The Alberta advantage is gone thanks to conservatism.
And yet here she is...
For now.
And how long you going to continue to say that?
Her comparing the low cost of insurance and utilities in BC to Alberta was helpful. Rather than a government sucking billionaires dick, their government lowered cost by making a public option.
For now...
How long do you think you can run a record breaking déficit before you end up paying for this? And BC is running a record breaking deficit.
Close tax loopholes and tax the extreme wealthy to what it was in the 60s and 70s. Back when we were prosperous.
BC is running record deficits. How long do you think that can happen before they have to raise taxes and prices of power and fuel even higher?
I moved from Edmonton to Vancouver Island this week for the cheaper rent, cheaper insurance, and government that does not hate its citizens. The fuel and taxes are more, but my cheaper rent more than makes up for it.
Fun fact: your Alberta landlord can double your rent and there’s nothing you can do about it.
Lesson: move to Vancouver Island for the savings.
Shhh. We have enough demand already. Don’t move here people it sucks
Isn't Vancouver Island still expensive as hell?
Only the south end of it. It's bigger than PEI. So many really great smaller towns up north.
I'm thinking of getting out of this toxic province. Too much hate and fascism for me.
Same, and I've lived here my whole life. Never really thought I'd live anywhere else, but here I am. If I knew I could find work out of province (or better yet, work remotely), there wouldn't be much keeping me here.
I will keep this in mind. Job market is impossible here in Edmonton, and obviously moving to a new place has risks. Is job market as bad there as it is here?
I work in social services (typically non-profit) and I got a union position doing something I love for much more (almost $10 per hour more) than I was making in Edmonton.
It very much depends on industry. Resource jobs aren't what they used to be, but boomer and genX retirements are accelerating and we have huge shortages for skilled labour, particularly in healthcare, trades (except carpenters... so many carpenters), engineering, and marine (particularly marine mechanics, but every ticket). Lots of service industry but the pay isn't phenomenal.
That said most small communities have all sorts of random jobs they can't find workers for, they will take anyone with adjacent skills or even no skills and train.
I am always amazed how people are able to work well paying jobs here. I can't even get a job as a teller at a bank here
Job market is bad here? I thought it was the best in the country…
Wish I could…
where the fuck are you living that its cheaper rent? Youbou?
Campbell River
Hey the highway to Renfrew is a game-changer, now you can go there for dinner at their single pub!
(Ok it looks like there are five restaurants now, it's been awhile. Pizza is also an option!)
Housing is seriously cheaper there? This is literally the only time I have ever that, it’s always been the complete opposite stated. Would you mind elaborating a bit?
I have a few criteria for rentals- large-dog friendly, in-suite laundry, safe neighborhood, and close enough to nature to walk my dog without getting in the car.
This does put me at the higher-end of rent I’m willing to pay. I was living near Lois Hole Provincial Park off the Henday, paying $1900 with underground parking. I moved to a similar unit with the same criteria in CR for $1650. I have a free parking incentive currently, so add on another $50 later. My power bill sounds as if it will be lower here. My car insurance will be lower (I’ve been insured on VI before).
Unless you moved to some small community, rent is much higher there. Not sure I believe you but compare it to Ardmore in alberta, and you could get far lower rent here I am sure as weil.
Campbell River. My rent is $250 month cheaper for the same amenities.
Move to Ardmore, you can get a place for $600 a month. How about you compare to a populated area like Edmonton to Victoria or Vancouver.
Because population wasn’t important to me and had no effect on my choices. I had job offers in CR. And if Ardmore is in Alberta, the government still hates you and the private health care is on its way.
So you think it is fine to compare apples to oranges and suggest that is the average or norm?
The only province with For Profit utilities. Which of course makes the price go down.
There has never been an Alberta advantage unless you're an Oil company
The Alberta Advantage is for businesses… full stop. Cheap labour and lack of regulations. #changemymind
I am curious to see what the UCP does when the conservatives take over federally. Without Trudeau to blame for their own incompetence they might be seen for the toxic fools they are.
They will still blame Trudeau, in the same way Alberta’s UCP voters still blame the 4-year NDP “stint” for everything. There is no way to win in a situation where idiots don’t care about anything other than their opponent losing at all cost.
compared to their (UCP) 44+ years in power
That’s the point: If it only took the NDP 4 years to “ruin Alberta”, why has the UCP not been able to “fix it” in the last 5? But even putting up an argument that’s as stupid as their own doesn’t work.
Alberta has one of the highest standards of living in Canada. Something seems to be working here. How is that?
Really? It certainly isn't the cheapest province in Canada to live in (that's PEI, Nfld, and Quebec), electricity costs are the highest in Canada. None of the cities are cheaper to live in than most other provinces.
It's true Alberta -- along with BC and Ontario in second and third place -- are currently higher than the Canadian average for Human Development Index, which measures education, life satisfaction, and income. But it's there because of oil patch money. And none of that money gets reinvested in the province, so well, that is coming home to roost now.
Once the US domestic production increases (more permits given out under Biden than Trump and Obama combined, incl opening the strategic reserve), Alberta's labour- and water-intensive extraction will go to the bottom of the list.
And then, well.
If it did not get re-invested in Alberta, how exactly do you think we become so wealthily. Quit making stuff up. If you do not like it, move to a different province.
If you're done tolerating the UCP, there is a province-wide protest being planned for May 25th, 'Enough is Enough UCP'. You can find more information here..
I'm cool with a protest, but not with the "buy stuff to protest" mentality. I can cut up a cardboard box and staple it to a stick.
That works just as well.
Slipping? Oh it slipped
Slipping ? It's been gone for a while. Living here is depressing.
This seems to be Canada wide. It sucks that it happened. We don't deserve this shit. Ruined lives for millions when society SHOULD be getting better and easier.
Idiots running this country/planet into the ground for a few more bucks in their pockets.
Come on, I am sure there are some folks getting richer. Everyone just has to wait for it all to come trickling down.
Hmm, why does this stuff trickling down smell funny...
Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher are currently sitting in hell waiting for heaven to trickle down to them.
Trickle down trickery. A lie repeated often enough become "truth".
Alberta is a fascist dystopia.
What? No it is not.
You're wrong.
Tell the feds
So, time to brush up in my French and move to Québec I guess?
That is how the system is designed to work. They need to push people down and keep them there, or the whole rotten system would fall apart.
What is this vague advantage that Alberta is losing?
So is alberta back to old housing prices and less job opportunities after all this rise?
I hate it here
Thanks Calgary.
No shit.
Gee ya think
Too true - I started in integrity in 2009 and it’s been steadily getting a little worse each year 😵💫
It’s pretty common sense to me.
Alberta advantage was based on cheap cost of living contrasted with high paying energy sector jobs.
Our population has exploded over the last decade, which has helped drive up home prices, coupled with inflation across the board on fuel, utilities, and food.
In addition the available jobs in the energy sector has stagnated or even shrunk in some cases.
Bullshit numbers I’m pulling out of my ass here; but hypothetically 15-20 years ago say we had 3.5 million people, 200k of whom were employed in energy all making 6 figure salaries and buying homes for 250k. That means 6% of your population is living at a very high standard and acting as a major driving force for the economy. Today we have 4.3 million people which means only 4.5% of our population is working those high paying energy jobs, and a home is now 500k meaning there is no longer as much liquid cash available to float around and stimulate other areas of our economy like it used to.
That’s not to say we need to expand the energy sector, but if your going to add a million people to the province you need to have some real industry or creat something new in order that they add more value than they remove. Unfortunately we haven’t created any new multi billion dollar industries over the last 2 decades to continue our prosperity, rather we’re just milking the same old cow and wondering why there’s no longer enough milk for everyone at the dinner table while we’ve added 30% more people to it.
Been gone for along time. The poor know this.
Welcome to Danielle smith's alberta.
Remove Alberta and insert and Provines name
There is absolutely no Alberta Advantage with the UCP.
/sarcasm/
so shocking.. you mean to say uncontrolled massive immigration is a bad thing , when the oil field no longer needs a massive influx of workers , and it's not even a "boom" anyways???
obviously this must be a mistake, our govt would NEVER forcibly try and cause an unfair labour oversupply so rich capitalists can make even more money by lowering wages.
/sarcasm font/
The so called “ Alberta Advantage” was only there for O&G people, everyone else paid for it! Now with Danielle Smith, everyone just Pays and Pays and Pays!! It’s a UCP thingy
The Alberta advantage, for the corporations that run the province and fund the UCP.
It's Trudeau's fault. Both of them.....
More profit for those at the top, this has always been the plan so not sure how anyone is surprised by this as it’s not like the UCP was hiding it.
And yet we are still the highest. Something is being done right. Do people actually expect it never to slip?
Surprise, suprise, suprise. Who would have thought that leaving companies whose purpose is to generate profit for shareholders would take advantage of deregulation and overcharge and make up bullshit add ons to utility bills.
"Strong and Free!!!" say the UCP.
If the NDP don't win in 2027, I'm packing up and getting out of Alberta. Can't stand the toxic and fascist politics of this province.
There is no advantage!
The Alberta advantage these days is more about living in a casino when any law, regulation, or institution you care about could disappear at anytime.
It's so exciting.
Thanks, Notley /s
Sounds like a lot of people in this sub are upset that the "Alberta advantage" was a well-known thing to begin with.
This is a problem with the entire country. Not just Alberta.
Have you looked at inter provincial comparables? The wage advantage is evaporating here - meaning our wage position relative to the rest of the country is getting worse. Things like electricity prices and insurance are worse than provinces that have public /.better regulated options.
Alberta is making specific choices that could be fixed to mitigate the damage, but we won't because rich people would make less money.
Did you read the article? I mean, if Alberta’s wage and economic positions are declining compared to the rest of the country then clearly it’s not a countrywide problem, it’s an Alberta problem.
what a defeatist attitude. I mean, it's also bullshit given we're one of the worst in the country.
But hey, since you've spoken and said it's bad everywhere...let's not hold our premier or her party responsible for the part they played, right? Let's just accept it's bad in the entire country, and accept there's nothing we can do, and nobody local needs to be held accountable.
Fuckin bullshit take bud. It makes me sick to see people just rolling over and taking it like a Political pillow-biter.
The standard of living in all of Canada is at a 40 year low but unless the people on this sub can blame the UCP for all their problems they don't want to hear it.
The 54-page report by economist Jim Stanford suggests Alberta has the slowest wage growth among all provinces despite equally high inflation, which caused an “unprecedented downward pressure” on living standards.
For salaried and hourly employees, the average annual growth in nominal weekly earnings during the same time period was around 2.3 per cent, compared with the national average which was 3.8 per cent.
Stanford attributed the weak wage growth to the United Conservative government’s “deliberate efforts” to suppress wages, pointing to its long-term freeze in minimum wages. Across Canada, minimum wages have increased by an average of 27 per cent from 2018 to 2023.
The article compares the Province to the rest of the country. The UCP are actively making us worse off than the rest of the country.
Is this a sub about the rest of Canada? Or just Alberta? Here's a clue, champ, it's in the sub name, r/Alberta. See, wasn't that hard, right. I'm sure if you cry loud enough to Marlaina she will introduce the bill to have it changed for you though.
The standard of living in all of Canada is at a 40 year
Which means in many ways we’re worse than the country’s 40 year low, thanks to the UCP. Thanks for clarifying.
It's the whole country that's going to shit not just Alberta
If the whole country is going to shit and Alberta is going to shit the hardest, what does that say?
This is literally a report comparing Alberta to the rest of Canada, showing that wages in Alberta aren’t keeping up with the rest of Canada while the cost of living is rising in Alberta faster than in any other province.
If the whole country is going to shit, Alberta’s going the fastest. Blame the UCP.
So Albertans still make the most money per week according to that chart, looks like other provinces are catching up.. back in 2013 we had a 17% advantage, wonder what’s happened since then /s
I told you people not to re-elect Trudeau.. but instead you continually choose to make all of us suffer
Better for immigrants than Ontario?
That’s because of federal policy.
4 missing replies
This was my favourite takeaway:
“ Stanford also claims that the dramatic rise in electricity prices in Alberta (85 per cent over the past five years) is due to the province’s privatized system.”