Only 10% agreed to withdrawing from the CPP
Most Albertans were against the Alberta government’s plans to break away from the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) to have an independent pension plan of their own, as reported in an article by CTV News.
In the survey silently released by the province, about 63% of the respondents opposed to the creation of the Alberta Pension Plan (APP). Only 10% of the Albertan respondents showed interest in the APP as 12% were admittedly unsure over it.
Notably, the survey continued the trend of Albertans opposing the independent pension plan. A Janet Brown Trend Research poll released last May found that 45% were against the APP while a February Leger poll found 55% of Albertans shared the same views.
Despite this, the Albertan government released a statement saying that they will not be giving up on the establishment of the APP anytime soon.
“While recent surveys on an APP show public opinion may be shifting, we will continue to engage with Albertans on this topic through the Alberta Next panel. The Alberta Pension Protection Act guarantees we won’t replace the CPP with an APP unless Albertans approve it in a referendum,” the Ministry of Treasury Board and Finance said in a statement.
The idea of the province straying from the CPP and establishing its own pension plan had been going around as Premier Danielle Smith took her post in 2022. Smith had been pointing out that this was a viable solution as she believed that the CPP was not fair to Albertans.
The APP has since then received low interest among Albertans along with criticisms and warnings from experts over its potential risks and flaws. Smith had announced last May that Alberta will not be moving forward with a referendum regarding the APP due to the lack of public demand as well as the continued uncertainty on the CPP assets share of the province.
