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1. The real election losers—balance sheet, health care, federalism

   On health-care wait times, Canada consistently ranks lowest among comparable countries with universal health care. ...

2. It’s official—Canada’s finances are now unsustainable

   The PBO report should be a wakeup call for policymakers. ...

3. Federal finances ‘careening downhill’ fast

   It has now been nearly a week since federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland released the fall economic statement (FES). After a suitable period of digestion, it’s still unclear where exactly federal finances are heading aside from very ...

4. Making sense of Canada’s $381.6 billion federal budget deficit

   The Trudeau government this week published its fall fiscal update for 2020. The headline-grabbing number emerging from the report was the government’s forecasted budget deficit for the year—$381.6 billion. As is often the case when it ...

5. Trudeau government’s approach to federal finances anything but ‘prudent’

   Appeared in the National Newswatch, December 2, 2020 Since coming to power in 2015, Prime Minister Trudeau —and his finance ministers —have characterized their management of federal finances as “prudent,” an adjective meaning to act with or show care and ...

6. Fiscal update—federal finances in worse shape than previously thought

   The Trudeau government released its fall fiscal update for 2020, which included more spending measures and grimmer deficit projections than previously anticipated. Unfortunately, the federal government also demonstrated little concern for ...

7. Trudeau government should heed looming risks to federal finances

   Appeared in the Globe and Mail, October 23, 2020 The federal government along with several prominent economists have downplayed the near-term risks to federal finances. Some have actually characterized Ottawa’s financial position as basically “ sound.” ...

8. Canada’s Aging Population and Long-Term Projections for Federal Finances

   Canada’s fiscal challenges extend far beyond just the short-term impact of COVID-19. An aging population will continue to place upward pressure on federal finances and a new structural imbalance between revenues and spending means deficits and ...

9. Federal finances remain vulnerable to fluctuating interest rates

   Appeared in Calgary's Business, August 20, 2020 There’s been a lot of movement in Ottawa lately, including Bill Morneau’s resignation as federal finance minister, with Chrystia Freeland taking his place. Unfortunately, the Trudeau government’s recent ...

10. Fiscal snapshot highlights deteriorating state of federal finances

    On Wednesday, the Trudeau government released a “ fiscal snapshot ” on the state of the economy and expectations for government finances for this year (2020/21). As expected, Finance Minister Bill Morneau confirmed a significant increase ...