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Originally Posted by RTA
^ Is it because the costs of providing those services are higher?
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Yes and no. Alberta has a younger and more urbanized population than the Canadian average, which should keep costs such as health care down, yet Alberta has the second highest healthcare spending per capita after Newfoundland. The biggest question mark is around public service wages. Private sector wages in Alberta are the highest in the country, but that is only relevant in areas where the public sector has to compete for the same resources. In areas, where it doesn't then the only competition is with other provinces. For example, an IT person could easily move back and forth between the public and private sectors while a nurse cannot. Therefore, a government IT wage must be competitive with the private sector whereas a that for a nurse does not. In general Alberta pays public sector employees far higher than do other provinces. I would also argue that government could get away with paying less than private sector alternatives in cases where the skills are transferable as government offers security while the private sector does not.