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1. Ford government must prepare for post-COVID spending cuts

   Appeared in the Ottawa Sun, May 5, 2020 Recently, RBC Economics published new estimates of this year’s deficits and debt accumulation for all 10 Canadian provinces. The news was predictably grim. According to forecasts, all provinces will run large ...

2. Big deficits or slash-and-burn—the Ford government’s false choice

   Appeared in the Ottawa Sun, November 28, 2018 The Toronto Sun recently published a letter to the editor from Ontario Finance Minister Vic Fedeli (pictured above) objecting to my last column —specifically, my assertion that the government’s mini-budget ...

3. On spending and deficits—if nothing changes, nothing changes

   Appeared in the Ottawa Sun, November 21, 2018 Last week, Finance Minister Vic Fedeli tabled Ontario’s Fall Economic Statement. This “mini-budget” was an opportunity for the Ford government to get serious about putting provincial finances on more ...

4. Dear Premier Ford, please look forward—not back

   Appeared in Maclean's, September 26, 2018 This week, Ontario Premier Doug Ford created a committee to investigate the previous Liberal government’s handling of provincial finances including its accounting methods. Premier Ford compared Liberal ...

5. Ontario's economic challenges go beyond the deficit

   Appeared in the Ottawa Sun, August 29, 2018 Since taking office, Premier Ford has emphasized the need to curb government spending. The premier has, for example, promised a line-by-line audit of spending. This is good news. A disciplined approach to ...

6. Wynne government places big bet on revenue growth

   Appeared in the Ottawa Sun, August 23, 2017 This year, Ontario’s operating budget is balanced for the first time in a decade. Of course, Ontario remains heavily indebted and is adding billions of dollars in new debt every year from capital spending that ...

7. Wynne government could take a few pointers from Liberal brethren in Quebec

   Appeared in the Toronto Sun, August 13, 2017 Ontarians usually don’t follow closely the economic developments of their eastern neighbour but they certainly should. In fact, Premier Kathleen Wynne’s government could take a few pointers from their Liberal ...

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. How public debt begets public debt in Ontario

   Appeared in the Ottawa Sun, Aug 2, 2017 One of the most important policy problems facing Ontario is the province’s big government debt burden, which amounts to approximately $21,000 per person. It’s also proving to be a stubbornly difficult one to solve. ...

10. Ontario in the grip of short-term policy thinking

    Appeared in the Toronto Sun, March 8, 2017 Public policy decisions are frequently biased towards short-term thinking. Governments make decisions that will affect people’s lives for decades, but must operate within a political context in which the next ...