Canadian Governance Policy Trends
Replicating Federal Government Services In A Separate Alberta
What would need to be built from scratch and what might a newly independent country avoid?
The School of Public Policy recently published a report on the Economic and Fiscal Implications of Alberta Separation. It includes spending requirements to replicate existing federal services, as well as a detailed account of current federal activity (239 departments, agencies, and other entities) and whether Alberta has equivalent functions. An independent Alberta would need to decide which functions delivered by the Government of Canada it would take on.
Some activities would be easy to replicate because of existing expertise; others would not. The figure shows current federal functions and where Alberta would need to expand, build from scratch, negotiate, or cease delivering.