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Alberta

Province defends post-secondary funding changes. Says United Kingdom, Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong using performance-based funding

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Minister Nicolaides meets with student leaders prior to announcing a new post-secondary funding announcement.

From The Province of Alberta

Transforming post-secondary funding

A new outcomes-based post-secondary funding approach will increase transparency and accountability and help build a modern and diverse workforce for the future.

Under the new funding model, a portion of government funding to colleges, universities and polytechnics will be based on achieving key performance measures. Performance measures will encourage institutions to improve services, increase efficiencies and create opportunities for Albertans through strong labour market outcomes and innovative programs and research.

“This is a new and completely transformative funding model for our universities, colleges and polytechnics. Our new approach will help ensure students are set up for success by encouraging institutions to produce job-ready graduates. Students make a significant investment in their post-secondary education, and it is essential we do everything possible to give them a rewarding career at the end of their studies. By shifting the focus to performance, we will ensure taxpayer dollars are being used in the most responsible way possible.”

Demetrios Nicolaides, Minister of Advanced Education

“The University of Calgary has the ability to create the ‘arc to the future’ for Calgary and help re-imagine Alberta. The outcomes-based funding model is not only a tremendous opportunity to transform our post-secondary system, but to graduate a workforce that is capable of adaptation, with the skills and abilities to innovate and to support economic growth and diversification.”

Geeta Sankappanavar, chair, Board of Governors, University of Calgary

“We look forward to working with government to implement the new outcomes-based approach to funding. This approach should improve predictability in government funding levels and enhance accountability for results delivery, both of which will benefit our students.”

Dave Collyer, chair, Board of Governors, Bow Valley College

“Alberta’s post-secondary presidents welcome the opportunity to work with the Government of Alberta, our learners and other stakeholders in building a performance-based model that will enable us to achieve an overall vision for Alberta’s post-secondary system, that builds on the strengths and core mission of each institution, and that maximizes the quality of our learning and research environments so that learners and communities can reach their highest potential.”

Neil Fassina, president of the Council of Post-secondary Presidents of Alberta and president of Athabasca University

“Alberta’s students deserve an institutional funding model that is both modern and evidence-based. ASEC supports the changes made by the Government of Alberta towards a model that fits our values of transparency, accountability, affordability and predictability. We look forward to working with the government in the further development of the Campus Alberta Grant allocation.”

Emmanauel Barker, director, Government Relations and Advocacy, Alberta Students’ Executive Council

In addition to tying public investment to results, government is also transforming its relationship with post-secondary institutions by negotiating three-year funding agreements. Investment management agreements will include specific performance targets for each institution. They will also specify the government funding each institution will receive if they meet their performance targets. Three-year terms will help institutions plan for the future and build on their record of excellence.

The amount of funding tied to performance outcomes will begin at 15 per cent of operational funding for 2020-21 and gradually increase to a maximum of 40 per cent by 2022-23. A small number of performance measures will be introduced for the 2020-21 academic year, and more measures will be gradually introduced over the next three years to a total of about 15.

 Quick facts

  • Government provides operational funding to 26 universities, colleges and polytechnics every year, but historically, this funding has not been tied to any targets or outcomes. While government provides many different kinds of grants to post-secondary institutions, only operational funding through the Campus Alberta Grant will be tied to performance.
  • The MacKinnon Report identified that the current post-secondary funding structure does not link funding to the achievement of specific goals or priorities for the province, such as ensuring the required skills for the current and future labour market.
  • Outcomes-based funding is a global trend in higher education. About 35 U.S. states use a form of performance-based funding. Over the past 10 years, additional jurisdictions have implemented various methods of performance-based funding, such as the United Kingdom, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Poland, Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong.
  • While performance measures will be finalized after discussions with post-secondary institutions, students and faculty, some examples may include:
    • graduate employment rate
    • median graduate income
    • graduate skills and competencies
    • work-integrated learning opportunities
    • administrative expense ratio
    • sponsored research revenue
    • enrolment (including potential targets for domestic students, international students and under-represented learners)
  • Performance measures will also be weighted differently depending on the institution. For example, different performance measures will be more important to different kinds of institutions.
  • Institutions that meet all of their targets will receive 100 per cent of their allocated funding.
  • If an institution does not meet its targets, the institution will receive funding that is proportionate to its level of achievement. For example, if an institution achieves 90 per cent of its target, it will receive 90 per cent of its funding for that target.

 

After 15 years as a TV reporter with Global and CBC and as news director of RDTV in Red Deer, Duane set out on his own 2008 as a visual storyteller. During this period, he became fascinated with a burgeoning online world and how it could better serve local communities. This fascination led to Todayville, launched in 2016.

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Alberta

Big win for Alberta and Canada: Statement from Premier Smith

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Premier Danielle Smith issued the following statement on the April 2, 2025 U.S. tariff announcement:

“Today was an important win for Canada and Alberta, as it appears the United States has decided to uphold the majority of the free trade agreement (CUSMA) between our two nations. It also appears this will continue to be the case until after the Canadian federal election has concluded and the newly elected Canadian government is able to renegotiate CUSMA with the U.S. administration.

“This is precisely what I have been advocating for from the U.S. administration for months.

“It means that the majority of goods sold into the United States from Canada will have no tariffs applied to them, including zero per cent tariffs on energy, minerals, agricultural products, uranium, seafood, potash and host of other Canadian goods.

“There is still work to be done, of course. Unfortunately, tariffs previously announced by the United States on Canadian automobiles, steel and aluminum have not been removed. The efforts of premiers and the federal government should therefore shift towards removing or significantly reducing these remaining tariffs as we go forward and ensuring affected workers across Canada are generously supported until the situation is resolved.

“I again call on all involved in our national advocacy efforts to focus on diplomacy and persuasion while avoiding unnecessary escalation. Clearly, this strategy has been the most effective to this point.

“As it appears the worst of this tariff dispute is behind us (though there is still work to be done), it is my sincere hope that we, as Canadians, can abandon the disastrous policies that have made Canada vulnerable to and overly dependent on the United States, fast-track national resource corridors, get out of the way of provincial resource development and turn our country into an independent economic juggernaut and energy superpower.”

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Alberta

Energy sector will fuel Alberta economy and Canada’s exports for many years to come

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From the Fraser Institute

By Jock Finlayson

By any measure, Alberta is an energy powerhouse—within Canada, but also on a global scale. In 2023, it produced 85 per cent of Canada’s oil and three-fifths of the country’s natural gas. Most of Canada’s oil reserves are in Alberta, along with a majority of natural gas reserves. Alberta is the beating heart of the Canadian energy economy. And energy, in turn, accounts for one-quarter of Canada’s international exports.

Consider some key facts about the province’s energy landscape, as noted in the Alberta Energy Regulator’s (AER) 2023 annual report. Oil and natural gas production continued to rise (on a volume basis) in 2023, on the heels of steady increases over the preceding half decade. However, the dollar value of Alberta’s oil and gas production fell in 2023, as the surging prices recorded in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine retreated. Capital spending in the province’s energy sector reached $30 billion in 2023, making it the leading driver of private-sector investment. And completion of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project has opened new offshore export avenues for Canada’s oil industry and should boost Alberta’s energy production and exports going forward.

In a world striving to address climate change, Alberta’s hydrocarbon-heavy energy sector faces challenges. At some point, the world may start to consume less oil and, later, less natural gas (in absolute terms). But such “peak” consumption hasn’t arrived yet, nor does it appear imminent. While the demand for certain refined petroleum products is trending down in some advanced economies, particularly in Europe, we should take a broader global perspective when assessing energy demand and supply trends.

Looking at the worldwide picture, Goldman Sachs’ 2024 global energy forecast predicts that “oil usage will increase through 2034” thanks to strong demand in emerging markets and growing production of petrochemicals that depend on oil as the principal feedstock. Global demand for natural gas (including LNG) will also continue to increase, particularly since natural gas is the least carbon-intensive fossil fuel and more of it is being traded in the form of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Against this backdrop, there are reasons to be optimistic about the prospects for Alberta’s energy sector, particularly if the federal government dials back some of the economically destructive energy and climate policies adopted by the last government. According to the AER’s “base case” forecast, overall energy output will expand over the next 10 years. Oilsands output is projected to grow modestly; natural gas production will also rise, in part due to greater demand for Alberta’s upstream gas from LNG operators in British Columbia.

The AER’s forecast also points to a positive trajectory for capital spending across the province’s energy sector. The agency sees annual investment rising from almost $30 billion to $40 billion by 2033. Most of this takes place in the oil and gas industry, but “emerging” energy resources and projects aimed at climate mitigation are expected to represent a bigger slice of energy-related capital spending going forward.

Like many other oil and gas producing jurisdictions, Alberta must navigate the bumpy journey to a lower-carbon future. But the world is set to remain dependent on fossil fuels for decades to come. This suggests the energy sector will continue to underpin not only the Alberta economy but also Canada’s export portfolio for the foreseeable future.

Jock Finlayson

Senior Fellow, Fraser Institute
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