If only Alberta was like everyone else....   Let me ask this, why should Alberta be like other provinces?   

No group has figured out the magic solution.   Alberta had massive population growth which required a high level of public spending as infrastructure and services kept up.   That high need also led to questionable expenses and waste, no surprise.   Alberta had high priced oil/income growth to pay for all that.   Now that the income is gone, $billions sucked out of the economy in an instant, no surprise the equation is out of balance.   But the people are still there.   Many make a fraction of what they used to, if they are working.   Revenue has dramatically changed.   Their expectations also changed.  What has not adjusted is government spending.   Also not adjusted is some attitudes in the rest of Canada  - just keep sending money.   Why not challenge the implication that expenses aren't the problem?

The West is also not wrong to expect fair treatment from it's friends.