Alberta's Trillion Dollar Mistake

Fifty years ago, Alberta had a chance to build one of the greatest sovereign wealth funds in the world. It could have been a trillion-dollar province.

This episode, host Sam traces the full story of the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund: the booms, the busts, and the mistakes made along the way. How did the richest province in Canadian history end up with almost nothing saved?

And now that Mark Carney is trying to build something similar for the whole country, does Ottawa actually know what it's doing, or is it about to make the same mistakes all over again?

Host: Sam Konnert

Credits: Aviva Lessard (Senior Producer), Sam Konnert (Host/Producer), Noor Azrieh (Host/Producer), Annie Tuba (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Tristan Capacchione (Senior Production Supervisor), Jesse Brown (Editor), Tony Wang (Artwork)

Photo Credit: @ABDanielleSmith

Guests: Trevor Tombe, Keith Brownsey

Background reading:

• Alberta government expects $100 payouts to arrive within 2 weeks of applications – Global News
• The Canada Strong Fund isn’t a sovereign wealth fund — and that’s OK – Policy Options
• Canada’s new sovereign wealth fund is ambitious, but its design raises questions – The Conversation
• Alberta's fund a cautionary tale for Carney's national sovereign wealth fund – National Post
• Alberta’s oil inheritance is being pilfered (by Albertans) – The Globe and Mail

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