149:, who did not qualify. Cheques for Albertans under 18 years of age were payable only to their primary caregiver (the mother in most cases), thus leaving parents to determine how their children's share was to be distributed or used. Homeless Albertans also qualified—the government pledged to work with inner-city agencies to ensure that the homeless receive their money. Other questions were unanswered. For example, it was unknown how
487:
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400 payment sometime in
January 2006. Previous government estimates had placed the 2005-06 budget surplus as $ 2.8-billion, however rising oil and gas prices had inflated this number to approximately $ 6.8-billion. The prosperity bonuses would total approximately $ 1.4-billion or 20 percent of the
70:, and Klein continuing as Premier for the fourth straight term. Despite retaining power in Alberta, the election revealed weakness in the popularity of Premier Klein and the Progressive Conservative Party. Their share of the popular vote dropped from 61.9% in
89:
announced in an open letter to
Albertans that the province was expecting significant higher than expected revenue from energy royalties and the government would be creating a program to return a portion of the surplus to Albertans in the form of a one-time
175:
Ralph Bucks made it into national media after a handful of non-Albertans came forward to admit they had received cheques to which they were not entitled, prompting criticism from the
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province's $ 6.8-billion surplus. The remainder of the $ 5.4-billion was allocated to other projects in the province. Prosperity bonuses were not subject to taxation by either the
436:
417:
Black, Matthew (January 14, 2020). "'Ralph Bucks' 14 years later: Could the
Prosperity Bonus have saved Alberta's bottom line?". CTV News. Edmonton. Retrieved August 7, 2020
129:
Cheques were received by almost 3 million
Albertans in 2006. However no further cheques were sent out. Klein resigned as premier later that same year, on December 14, 2006.
243:"Millions of Albertans receive resource rebate". Government of Alberta. January 31, 2006. Archived from the original on February 4, 2006. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
823:
600:
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Following the prosperity bonus program, some
Albertans dropped their approval of the cheque program. They began viewing the $ 400 cheques negatively in light of
567:
351:
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After the announcement Klein left the door open for the possibility of annual prosperity cheques similar to the annual dividends provided by the government of
622:
200:
Economist Todd Hirsch stated publicly his opinion that the government "missed some great opportunities to invest in our post-secondary education systems."
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63:
408:
Nelson, Chris (February 7, 2019). "Nelson: Ralph Bucks and the fine art of frittering away $ 1.4 billion". Calgary Herald. Retrieved August 7, 2020
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The program generated controversy both inside and outside
Alberta. Few Albertans turned down their cheques, and a vast majority were glad for it.
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Some residents criticized what they saw as a pointless giveaway, and preferred to see the excess money put toward long-term benefits such as
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28:, was a one-time $ 400 payment paid out to almost 3 million Albertan residents in 2006. The
352:"'Ralph Bucks' 14 years later: Could the Prosperity Bonus have saved Alberta's bottom line?"
191:
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All
Albertans who were residents of the province as of September 1, 2005, and filed a 2004
771:
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columnists Rick Bell and Chris Nelson after searching for a term to describe the payment.
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Notice for Klein's prosperity bonus would come less than a year following the
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292:"Nelson: Ralph Bucks and the fine art of frittering away $ 1.4 billion"
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would receive their bonus if they were housed in a shelter.
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The prosperity bonus cheques were commonly referred to as
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380:"Millions of Albertans receive resource rebate"
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262:Office of the Premier - Government of Alberta
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429:"Alberta to cut 'prosperity bonus' cheques"
320:"Alberta to cut 'prosperity bonus' cheques"
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427:Harding, Katherine (September 13, 2005).
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318:Harding, Katherine (September 13, 2005).
64:Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta
40:due to a massive oil-fuelled provincial
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439:from the original on January 14, 2017
222:- a similar dividend paid by earlier
151:spouses fleeing abusive relationships
7:
350:Black, Matthew (January 14, 2020).
215:Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund
568:List of premiers by time in office
386:. January 31, 2006. Archived from
290:Nelson, Chris (February 7, 2019).
184:falling oil and gas prices in 2008
66:elected for the tenth consecutive
48:Background - 2004 general election
14:
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485:
145:received the bonus, except for
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177:Canadian Taxpayers Federation
78:Prosperity bonus announcement
60:2004 Alberta general election
54:2004 Alberta general election
814:31st general election (2023)
192:provincial debt and deficits
596:Executive Council (Cabinet)
535:Former lieutenant governors
99:or provincial governments.
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789:Wildrose Loyalty Coalition
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931:2006 in Canadian politics
832:
623:Former Opposition Leaders
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125:One-time issue of cheques
836:Other Canadian politics:
601:Speaker of the Assembly
190:, which led to growing
226:governments in Alberta
220:Prosperity certificate
779:Wildrose Independence
384:Government of Alberta
210:Alaska Permanent Fund
143:Canada Revenue Agency
119:Alaska Permanent Fund
30:Government of Alberta
768:Solidarity Movement
194:in following years.
168:or the abolition of
106:which was coined by
926:Politics of Alberta
824:Electoral districts
783:Jeevan Singh Mangat
643:United Conservative
591:Former legislatures
522:Lieutenant Governor
491:Politics of Alberta
390:on February 4, 2006
268:on October 29, 2005
258:"Alberta's Surplus"
186:, and again in the
82:In September 2005,
68:majority government
24:after then-premier
941:Economy of Alberta
762:Randy Thorsteinson
433:The Globe and Mail
325:The Globe and Mail
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677:Alberta Advantage
635:Political parties
613:Opposition Leader
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586:Current assembly
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256:Klein, Ralph.
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52:Main article:
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42:budget surplus
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443:September 20,
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121:since 1982.
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723:Independence
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704:Naomi Rankin
441:. Retrieved
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392:. Retrieved
388:the original
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362:. Retrieved
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301:. Retrieved
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270:. Retrieved
266:the original
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117:through the
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21:
20:, nicknamed
17:
15:
794:Paul Hinman
751:Murray Ruhl
578:Legislature
557:Premiership
505:Charles III
328:. Cold Lake
170:health care
133:Eligibility
108:Calgary Sun
104:Ralph Bucks
87:Ralph Klein
26:Ralph Klein
22:Ralph bucks
920:Categories
360:. Edmonton
231:References
172:premiums.
139:tax return
74:to 46.8%.
16:Alberta's
806:Elections
699:Communist
364:August 7,
332:August 7,
303:August 7,
147:prisoners
141:with the
747:Pro-Life
437:Archived
357:CTV News
204:See also
166:tax cuts
34:dividend
840:Federal
735:Liberal
689:Buffalo
545:Premier
97:federal
38:Alberta
32:paid a
757:Reform
728:Vacant
716:Vacant
115:Alaska
711:Green
188:2010s
445:2017
396:2017
366:2020
334:2020
305:2020
274:2017
92:CA$
72:2001
922::
905:YU
900:NU
895:NT
890:SK
885:QC
880:PE
875:ON
870:NS
865:NL
860:NB
855:MB
850:BC
845:AB
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354:.
342:^
322:.
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248:^
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555:(
478:e
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.