Albertans pay more into Employment Insurance than they get back.
Claimed by: Commonly stated by Alberta independence advocates
Needs context: Accurate as written, but a key piece of context changes how it reads. How we rate.
Summary
The dollar figure is real, but on its own it misreads what EI is. Employment Insurance is insurance, not a savings account or a personal investment: workers across the country pay the same national premium rate, and money flows to whoever loses their job. Any region with low unemployment will therefore normally pay in more than it draws out, the same way low-risk drivers pay more in car insurance premiums than they collect in claims. Alberta's net contribution, which Fraser Institute analysis puts at about 23.9 billion dollars from 1981 to 2023, mostly reflects its high employment and relatively low EI use, not a program designed to shortchange Albertans. The number is accurate, but it is evidence of strong employment rather than proof of unfair treatment, and Ontario's net contribution is larger.
Evidence
EI premium rates are set at a single national rate for workers outside Quebec, so contributions track earnings while benefits flow to those who become unemployed, regardless of which province pays the most in.
The federal EI Monitoring and Assessment Report shows Alberta's benefit-to-contribution ratio sits below the national average, consistent with lower EI use in a high-employment province rather than unfair treatment.
Fraser Institute analysis found Alberta workers contributed about $23.9 billion more to EI than Albertans received in benefits from 1981 to 2023, second only to Ontario's net contribution.