What Alberta's Budget Sensitivity Table Means

Governments publish fiscal assumptions because budgets depend on economic and market variables that can change quickly.

Sensitivity tables help readers understand approximate exposure: for example, how much the balance might change if oil prices or exchange rates differ from the budget plan.

A sensitivity is not a complete forecast. It does not capture every second-order effect, policy response, accounting change, or timing issue.

It is best understood as a transparent rule of thumb for scenario analysis.

Alberta Budget Terminal applies the configured sensitivities to the difference between current scenario inputs and base budget assumptions.

That makes the model easy to inspect, explain, and challenge.