"...The most important thing to remember in all of this is that the federal government pays for equalization, and it does it out of the same general revenue pool used to fund all of its programs and services. In other words, every Canadian that pays federal taxes contributes to equalization payments on the exact same basis. A rich person in Quebec or New Brunswick will contribute more to equalization than a less wealthy person in Alberta or Saskatchewan. And because there are more Ontarians paying federal taxes than Albertans, more dollars for equalization actually come from Ontario than Alberta." - http://www.vueweekly.com/alberta-doesnt-send-oil-money-to-have-nots-and-ontario-contributes-more-than-alberta/