Kenney said if Quebec and other provinces want to keep benefitting from those payments they should stop obstructing pipelines that carry Alberta oil.

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney took to social media Monday to lash back at Quebec Premier François Legault, with a lesson on civics and equalization payments to the provinces.

The response was sparked by Legault saying on Sunday that Quebec had a right to equalization payments — funding co-ordinated by the federal government to ensure the same level of services across the country — and possessed that right since the founding of Canada in 1867.

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However, Kenney pointed out on his Facebook page that Legault was unaware of the history of equalization payments, reminding the Quebec premier that the system was established not in 1867 but 1957 and written into the Constitution of 1982, which has yet to be ratified by Quebec.

The Alberta premier added that his province had paid out $620 billion to other provinces since 1957, and if Quebec and other provinces want to continue to benefit from those payments they should stop obstructing pipelines that carry Alberta oil.

Quebec received $13.1 billion in equalization payments from Ottawa in 2019, a sum that represents 11 per cent of its revenues.