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If the Conservatives have it right, it is impossible for a society to tax and spend its way to prosperity: But by the Alberta NDP’s lights, we may be able to drink our way there.

After the oil crash of 2015, and surprise victory of an NDP provincial government, Alberta’s economy has struggled to recapture the high of its resource-fuelled booms.

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In a bid to turn things around, the NDP has focussed on economic “diversification” — the hope that this province’s economy will flourish even as it weans itself off the extraordinary wealth created by the northern oil sands. And in no industry has the NDP placed more obvious hope and help than in — craft beer.

Every few months, the government seems to announce some new tax structure or rebate, or grant or scheme to build and grow the province’s craft breweries. It is, quite simply, the most visible recipient of the provincial government’s attention and largesse.