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1. Successive Ontario governments increased net debt from $139 billion to $338 billion

   The Ford government today released its fall economic and fiscal update, which includes taxation and spending changes, with Finance Minister Vic Fedeli noting that the "fiscal hole is deep.” However, perhaps the most telling ...

2. Ontario has a $15 billion deficit—not the $6.7 billion claimed by the previous government

   The Ontario government’s review of provincial finances is finally out, and the picture is even grimmer than what the auditor general and the Financial Accountability Office have presented. The key findings confirm that Ontario since 1990 ...

3. Actually, including capital spending, Ontario’s deficit is more than $32 billion

   Ontario’s 2018 provincial budget saw total operating expense reach $158.5 billion with total revenues at $152.5 billion, for a deficit of just over $6 billion. But there has been some debate over government accounting methods and the ...

4. Debt and decline—Ontario’s challenges in three snapshots

   Ontario’s upcoming provincial budget will likely include a significant increase in government spending with an eye on the spring election. Liberal Finance Minister Charles Sousa has already indicated that the pre-election budget will now ...

5. Ontario can learn from Michigan’s success

   Recently, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and Michigan Governor Rick Snyder (both pictured above) signed a memorandum of understanding stating they would cooperate to promote innovation in the regional auto industry. It’s noteworthy that ...

6. Looming $1.7 billion operating deficit colours Ontario’s fiscal outlook

   The spring 2016 Economic and Fiscal Outlook report of Ontario’s Financial Accountability Office (FAO) received notable attention given its projection that as a result of transit infrastructure spending, Ontario’s net debt would increase ...

7. Debt and electricity costs stunt investment in Ontario

   It’s premature to view Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne’s recent announcement that Ontario’s economy is doing better as evidence of the arrival of a new golden age for Ontario’s economy. Despite annualized real GDP growth of 3.3 per cent ...

8. Fiscal watchdog cuts through Wynne government’s spin

   Earlier this week, Ontario’s provincial government put out a news release that painted a rosy picture of Ontario’s economy and its public finances. Among other things, the release boasted that the province is on course to meet its ...

9. Reality check—Ontario’s budget is unrealistic

   The Ontario government has again promised a balanced budget by 2017-18 in its latest aspirational fiscal document but achieving its goal is based on a fervent hope that the economy will recover and revenues will grow faster than ...

10. Ontario Budget: dark cloud of government debt continues to hang over the province

    Today, the Wynne government tabled a budget with a bit of good news for Ontarians. Specifically, we learned that the operating deficit in 2015/16 will be somewhat smaller (at $5.7 billion) than was previously expected ($7.5 billion)—due ...