Search

Search results

1. An Assessment of Recent Economic Performance and Business Investment Growth in Ontario

   Over the first two decades of the 21st century, Ontario has been mired in a prolonged period of slow economic growth. This bulletin provides the context for this situation by examining the extent of Ontario’s economic weakness since the turn of ...

2. Measuring Ontario’s Regional Prosperity Gap

   By global standards, Ontario is a prosperous place. Ontarians enjoy living standards and access to opportunities that are the envy of much of the world. However, within its own economic region, Ontario is an economic laggard. This bulletin ...

3. Economic Performance in Ontario CMAs: A National Comparative Perspective

   Several recent Fraser Institute studies have documented the weak economic performance in Ontario over the past 20 years outside of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), and to a lesser extent Ottawa. This bulletin builds on that analysis by examining ...

4. The Power of Comprehensive Policy Reform: Lessons for Ontario from Michigan

   In recent years, Ontario has experienced weak overall economic performance and rising public debt. Further, the province has seen its manufacturing sector—once a primary driver of growth in the province—decline substantially. By comparison, the ...

5. Creating Policy Calling Cards to Attract Business to Ontario

   On the campaign trail and since taking office as Premier, Doug Ford has spoken often about the need to make Ontario an attractive business investment destination. Specifically, Mr. Ford has repeatedly talked about the need to declare the province " ...

6. Ontario’s Lost Decade: 2007–2016

   Between 2007 and 2016, Ontario was mired in a prolonged period of economic weakness during which it lost ground compared to the rest of the country on many important economic indicators. This bulletin examines the extent of Ontario’s economic ...

7. Uneven Recovery: Much of Ontario Still Hasn't Fully Recovered from the 2008 Recession

   In recent history, Ontario has suffered more than its share of economic pain. From 2003 to 2015, real per-person economic growth in Ontario was roughly half of the rate in the rest of the country at 0.5 percent annually. Thanks to a steep recession and a ...

8. Wishful Thinking: An Analysis of Ontario’s Timeline for Shrinking Its Debt Burden

   Since 2007/08, Ontario’s level of public debt has approximately doubled. As a result, the provincial debt-to-GDP ratio has climbed to historically high levels in recent years. In its 2017 budget, Premier Wynne’s government presented a timeline for ...

9. Ontario's One Cylinder Economy: Housing in Toronto and Weak Business Investment

   Economic growth in Ontario has lagged Canada since 2003, reducing the province to ‘have-not’ status within Confederation. One theme that runs throughout the paper’s analysis is the persistent weakness of Ontario’s manufacturing sector, where output has ...

10. Hold the Celebration: A Balanced Budget Won't End Ontario's Fiscal Challenges

    Ontario’s public finances have deteriorated markedly in recent years. Net debt (gross debt minus financial assets) has approximately doubled since 2007; it is estimated that it will reach $318 billion this year (2016/17). After nine consecutive ...