Overview
- The Alberta government has chosen the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy to produce an independent analysis of the economic impacts of pursuing secession.
- An expert advisory panel led by economist Jack Mintz and including Ted Morton, Adam Legge, Alex Pourbaix and Janice MacKinnon will review the work and deliver a separate assessment while the school retains editorial control.
- The report will examine estimated transition costs, possible savings, economic risks and wider effects and is expected to be released in late summer so it can inform the October referendum.
- The study enters a debate that includes widely circulated high-end figures such as Premier Danielle Smith’s reported $400 billion estimate and competing cost projections that voters will need to weigh.
- Legal requirements to consult Indigenous nations, the 1998 Supreme Court guidance on secession and federal rules add procedural hurdles that could affect investor confidence and major projects if the province moves toward separation.