Tax critics are calling Alberta’s rebranding anything but an advantage.
The $25-million campaign was quietly launched Wednesday, replacing the Alberta Advantage with “Freedom to create. Spirit to achieve.”
“I liked the old one. It was simple, short, had the word ‘Alberta’ in it,” said Canadian Taxpayers Federation spokesman Scott Hennig. “I don’t know what benefit taxpayers are going to get for their $25 million.”
Releasing the costly campaign comes weeks before the province is expected to announce a $3-billion deficit, proof that taxpayers’ money is mismanaged, Hennig said.
Defining perceptions and creating a new identity for the province were wrought through focus groups, surveys and stakeholder group discussions.
Money, Hennig suggested, may have been better spent for information campaigns to clean up Alberta’s “dirty-oil” image.
