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Tory Leader Jim Prentice has often spoken about “generational change” as the government deals with plummeting oil prices, and the same can perhaps be said about Tuesday’s election. If the polls can be believed, Albertans are fuelling a three-way dead heat between Prentice’s Tories, the Wildrose and the NDP.

The election call quickly followed the release of the government’s financial plan, which outlines a prudent mix of spending cuts and tax hikes. It is a tough budget that is unpopular among many Albertans, but there is much to praise in the document, which promises to not only balance the books in 2017 — even if oil prices remain stubbornly low — but reduces government’s dependence on energy royalties without overly relying on new and higher taxes.

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Revenue from natural resources is not only highly volatile — as we now know all too well — but it cannot be counted on in perpetuity. There is strong support among Albertans to save more of our resource revenue in the Heritage Savings Trust Fund, and the Prentice plan would accomplish that, if permitted to play out in the future.