The Perfect Storm, part 4: Good News for Once

Well, Alberta certainly is in a pickle. Without massive resource revenues to finance the province's "rich government" the whole system was set to collapse like Russia's odds in the Paralympics. Tens of thousands were laid off; thousands moved away, and the province elected to government the party that promised to raise taxes the most. I call it making the best of a bad situation.

You'll be forgiven to think that it's only been bad news since then. Alberta's news company has certainly done its best to make it seem like the NDP have been doing nothing but screw up for a year and a half, but that simply isn't so. So, it's time to look at where we are, and more than that, identify the things that should give us hope. So together, let us stop bellyaching and whining, and realize that good things are indeed just around the corner, so long as we don't scare them off.

First of all, we need address the dreaded T: taxes. Are they so high they are crushing business? Are they so high they are crushing entrepreneurship? Are they so high they are hurting the people of Alberta? We must be honest and conclude, no, they most certainly are not. Dealing with these questions in reverse order, we must first concede that income taxes were raised solely on the province's very wealthy, otherwise known as people who can afford to pay it. The people who lost their jobs, or just their overtime, will see no increase in their taxes - which would not have been the case if a PST was initiated. Therefore, there is no more suffering for them. Indeed, the government's defence of its civil service has probably helped people more than a tax cut would. Just consider the refugees from Fort McMurray, who received aid from the province as fast as could be, including in the guise of schools for their children. Are the new taxes stifling entrepreneurship? I'm sure we all see new businesses in our neighbourhoods; at least I do. And lastly, slightly increasing corporate tax rates (which apply to profits alone) can literally in no way drive a company unprofitable. That is just not how corporate taxes work. So, we can conclude that the NDP has in fact done more to fight the deficit, and act responsibly, than any of its opposition parties offered or seem willing to do.

So, having dispelled the boogeyman of taxes away, we need to consider just all the advantages Alberta still has. Yes, oil is gone; if it comes back at all, it's return will likely to be brief, so let's move on in life. Free money is over, but we have a lot more to offer than no taxes, no oversight, and no regulations.

Probably the most important thing going on in Canada right now is not the fall in oil, but a massive housing bubble. While it affected Alberta greatly, it has reached truly lunatic proportions in Canada's first and third cities, Toronto and Vancouver. Why is this a good thing? Well, it isn't ,but it is an opportunity for Alberta. Simply put, people are losing the ability to live and work in those cities. Businesses are becoming restricted in their pools of talent as fewer and fewer people can get by in such crazy environments. We also have something that few cities in the world have: skylines filling up with empty buildings. With corporate leases reaching lows not seen since the 1980s, Alberta is rapidly assembling all the factors a business could possibly need to thrive into the future. Consider: our taxes are lower than BC's or Ontario's, largely thanks to the absence of a PST. Our electricity rates are among the lowest in the country, thanks to the collapse of fossil fuel prices. Our corporate real estate is practically free, and we have a relatively low cost of living and a well-educated, hard working population.

The only thing that could work against this favourable situation is the outrageously crazy criticism of the government. Criticism of a government is always necessary, but in Alberta it has truly reached new lows. My only fear is that our outspoken neighbours, the haters, will terrify potential businesses, either from their bad behaviour or their bad mouths. Luckily, things are just as bad in Ontario for the Wynne government, if not worse; so maybe we will dodge the bullets we fire at ourselves.

But last month De Beers relocated it's head office from Toronto to Calgary. Will they be the last? I highly doubt it. Alberta is simply too good to be true. I anticipate we will be seeing more and more companies relocate from Toronto to Calgary and Edmonton as business environment for employers and employees continues to erode there. Our skyline will fill up with the offices of Canada's biggest corporations, our economy will diversify, and people will be happier and more hopeful from it. We just have to get through this. We can do it!