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1. Understanding two decades of weak economic performance in Ontario

   It’s important for policymakers to recognize the severity of Ontario’s growth problem, how long-lived it has been, and the challenge of weak business investment that could impede future growth. ...

2. Ford government faces three-pronged threat to Ontario’s competitiveness

   Appeared in the Toronto Sun, November 7, 2018 On the campaign trail, Doug Ford promised that, if elected, he’d bring business investment back to Ontario. This is exactly what the new government should focus on—but it’s easier said than done. Ontario must ...

3. How healthy is Ontario’s economy—outside of Toronto?

   Appeared in the Ottawa Sun, November 8, 2017 Earlier this week, the Government of Ontario put out a news release touting Ontario’s job-creation numbers. According to the release, province has enjoyed positive net job creation for the past four months. It ...

4. Obstacles to business investment in Ontario—high labour costs

   A recent study by the Fraser Institute showed that weak business investment remains a serious problem for Ontario’s economy, with important implications for the province’s medium- and long-term growth prospects. While the provincial ...

5. Obstacles to business investment in Ontario—uncompetitive tax rates

   A recent study from the Fraser Institute highlights a substantial problem for Ontario’s economy—the fact that business investment to the province remains weak. In fact, business investment still hasn’t recovered to pre-recession levels. ...

6. Rising cost of doing business in Ontario chasing away business investment

   After more than a decade of comparatively weak economic performance, there are finally some green shoots for Ontario’s economy. Unemployment in the province is at its lowest in 16 years, and the province is expected to be near the top of ...

7. Dependence on housing leaves Ontario economy vulnerable

   Appeared in the Toronto Sun, July 5, 2017 Ontario traditionally has been Canada’s engine of growth. However, over the past decade it has slipped to “have not” status that receives equalization payments. While housing recently has provided a temporary ...

8. 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 ...

9. In Ontario, the cost of doing business is high

   Jon Dwyer, the managing director of an Ontario-based bio-tech company, recently took to the CBC to express his concern that doing business in Ontario was becoming increasingly difficult. In his column, Dwyer states that rising energy ...

10. Lack of private-sector business investment helps drive Ontario's poor economic performance

    The previous two posts based on Philip Cross’ recent study Ontario: No Longer a Place to Prosper focused on economic growth and GDP, and the province’s poor performance in growing incomes and creating private-sector jobs. This final blog ...