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1. Scoring the economic performance of Canada’s last five prime ministers

   The 2016-2019 period had the weakest economic performance of the five periods analyzed. ...

2. The finance minister said what? Part 4

   Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau (pictured above) appeared this weekend on CTV’s Question Period to present the government’s case for its economic and fiscal policies, which were reflected in the fall economic update released last ...

3. Hiking capital gains taxes—bad for the economy and Canada’s middle class

   Appeared in the Vancouver Sun, March 21, 2017 In the lead up to today’s federal budget there have been on-going rumours that the federal government will raise capital gains taxes. Despite misperceptions that hiking capital gains taxes will only affect ...

4. End of the Chrétien Consensus?

   Governments in Edmonton, Toronto and Ottawa have markedly increased government spending. ...

5. End of the Chrétien Consensus?

     The Chrétien Consensus was an implicit agreement that transcended political party and geography regarding the soundness of balanced budgets, declining government debt, smaller and smarter government spending, and competitive taxes that emerged in the ...

6. End of the Chretien Consensus in Canada?

   Appeared in the Financial Post, November 24, 2015 Canada enjoyed an economic and fiscal renaissance starting in the mid-1990s that lasted more than a decade. The boom was rooted in sound fiscal policy (balanced budgets, focused spending, and tax ...

7. What are the top three business/economic issues federal parties should be addressing in the current federal campaign?

   Appeared in Business in Vancouver, September 29, 2015 With a relatively weak Canadian economy, depressed commodity prices and the myriad of international economic issues (i.e. uncertainty in China), federal parties should offer solutions to the economic ...

8. Debt interest risks crowding out government spending on other priorities

   Appeared in the Regina Leader Post and Huffington Post, Aug 25, 2014 Canadian headlines about government deficits and debt can be dizzying and hard for people to grasp. A few billion here and several billion there and the natural response is for one’s ...

9. Ontario's financial woes a problem for all of Canada

   Appeared in the Waterloo Region Record Lost in the current flurry of Ontario’s election campaign is the one key issue facing the province, and indeed all of Canada: Ontario’s laggard economic performance is dragging down the national economy. Due to the ...

10. Canadian Government Debt 2014

    With Canadian governments having returned to deficit-financed spending, the growth in direct government debt has re-emerged as a serious public policy issue in Canada. The net direct debt of all three levels of government increased from $872.2 billion to ...