Quebec’s Natural Gas: Alberta’s Treasure Chest Waiting to Be Counted

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Let’s get real: while Quebec sits on a whopping 22 trillion cubic feet of natural gas—enough to fund smoother roads and bolster local economies—it stubbornly refuses to tap into its own wealth. Instead, Quebec wraps itself in green virtue signaling, prioritizing environmental dogma over economic sense. Meanwhile, Alberta, the real Canadian energy engine, is left holding the bag, footing the bill through equalization payments that prop up provinces happy to hoard resources but eager to spend federal cash.

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Alberta’s Oil and Gas: The Economic Juggernaut

Alberta produces the oil and gas that powers Canada and contributes enormously to national coffers. The oil sands alone pumped over $68 billion into Alberta’s economy in 2019, making up more than 18% of the provincial GDP. That’s not just numbers on a spreadsheet—that’s jobs (over 130,000 directly employed), hospitals, schools, roads, and social programs funded by Alberta’s energy boom.

It’s no exaggeration to say Alberta is Canada’s economic engine when it comes to energy. Between direct taxes, royalties, and business taxes, the oil and gas industry contributed nearly $580 billion to government revenues nationwide over two decades. That money pays for real services people rely on every day.

Quebec’s Natural Gas: Sitting Pretty, Doing Nothing

Quebec’s natural gas remains frozen in time, stymied by a government moratorium driven by environmental activism and political posturing. In effect, Quebec refuses to develop resources it already owns, yet collects serious federal equalization payments based partly on its supposed fiscal capacity. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith rightly calls this out as unfair: why should Alberta fund provinces that refuse to leverage their own resources?[Previous conversation]

Smith’s campaign to include untapped resource wealth in equalization calculations is common sense. Province’s fiscal capacity shouldn’t be judged only on what they produce but also on what they could produce—if they chose to. Alberta pays for everyone’s infrastructure, health care, and more, yet faces growing frustration that others get handouts without making the hard choices Alberta does every day to develop its resource economy.

The Stakes: Fairness, Prosperity, and Pragmatism

Quebec’s environmental priorities come with real consequences—rotten roads, missed economic opportunities, and dependency on federal dollars largely funded by Alberta’s energy sector. Alberta’s call to reform equalization isn’t just political noise; it’s a necessary push for fairness and sustainable fiscal policy.

If Quebec woke up to the potential beneath its feet, it could boost local jobs, revenue, and infrastructure funding without begging from Ottawa. Until then, Alberta’s oil rigs will keep running to pay for their neighbors’ green dream.

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