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1. Rhetoric vs. reality—the Trudeau government’s dismal record on business investment

   Appeared in the Financial Post, February 11, 2021 Business investment—in factories, machinery, equipment and new technologies—remains vital to the prosperity of any country. “If businesses don’t invest, to create great jobs,” said former Trudeau finance ...

2. Trudeau government must create friendlier investment climate to spur COVID recovery

   Appeared in the Winnipeg Free Press, February 8, 2021 In advance of the Trudeau government’s upcoming federal budget, the economic recovery from the COVID recession remains the top priority. Crucially, even before the pandemic, Canada was struggling to ...

3. Trudeau government must improve investment climate to ‘build back better’

   Appeared in the Ottawa Sun, September 24, 2020 Among other themes, last Wednesday’s throne speech doubled down on the “Build Back Better” theme Prime Minister Trudeau first used last month when he said, “We need to reset the approach of this government ...

4. Capital Investment in Canada’s Provinces: A Provincial Report

   Previous research by the Fraser Institute has documented a substantial decline in capital investment after 2014. The decline was especially marked for business investment and, within that category, for machinery and equipment and intellectual property ...

5. Things the Liberal government knows that just ain’t so—Canada is the ‘best place to invest’

   Appeared in the Hill Times, March 11, 2020 Despite all the evidence, Prime Minister Trudeau, his government (and those around them) really believe their policies have made Canada the best place to invest. For example, the government's new Invest in ...

6. Private Sector Capital Expenditures in Canada: An Industry-Level Analysis

   There has been much debate recently about Canada’s industrial competitiveness compared to other developed countries, particularly the US. In particular, concerns have been raised about recent declines in private sector capital expenditures, especially in ...

7. Walled from Competition: Measuring Protected Industries in Canada

   Consumers are best served by firms when the latter are exposed to the threat of competition. Absent the possibility of new firms threatening their incumbent status, established players have less incentive to cut costs and prices and improve services. The ...

8. What happens when Canada ignores incentives and competitiveness

   Appeared in the Winnipeg Free Press, February 5, 2019 Anecdotes of Canadian firms leaving or diverting investments outside the country have continued unabated from 2018. The federal and many provincial governments seem reluctant to acknowledge this ...

9. Canada has fallen asleep and must wake up—fast

   Appeared in the National Newswatch, November 19, 2018 In the classic Aesop's Fable, a slow-moving tortoise challenges a self-assured hare to a race. Immediately, the hare jumps out in front and becomes overconfident. He naps halfway through the race ...

10. Competitiveness should be a top priority for finance ministers

    Serious concerns about the country’s competitiveness hovered above talks this week at the federal-provincial finance ministers meeting in Ottawa. Which is not surprising. Canada has become a less appealing place to do business due to ...