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1. Interest Cost Risks to Government Budgets

   This essay calculates the change in government interest costs and budget balances if interest costs return to their 2019-20 levels. Estimates are calculated for 2021-22 gross debt levels for each of the provinces and the federal government. ...

2. Lessons for the Ford Government from the 1995 Federal Budget

   Chronic deficits since the 2008/09 recession have weakened Ontario’s public finances. The province’s debt-to-GDP ratio—a key measure of fiscal sustainability—increased from 27.8 percent to an estimated 47.0 percent of GDP by the end of 2020/21. ...

3. Deferring Federal Taxes: Illustrating the Deficit Using the GST

   It is sometimes difficult for everyday Canadians to grasp the size of the federal deficit— estimated at $26.6 billion for 2019-20—because of its sheer size. This bulletin, along with subsequent planned instalments, aims to give Canadians that ...

4. The Budget That Changed Canada: Essays on the 25th Anniversary of the 1995 Budget

   February 28th, 2020, is the 25th anniversary of one of the most important federal budgets in Canada’s history. It took decisive steps to finally solve a problem of runaway deficits and debt that had begun in the late 1960s and grown worse, almost without ...

5. Back on Track: How the Federal Liberals Can Deliver Their Promised Balanced Budget by 2019/20

   Main Conclusions During the 2015 federal election, Justin Trudeau’s Liberals presented a fiscal plan to Canadians that proposed three years of deficit spending of no more than $10 billion annually with a return to a balanced budget by 2019/20. After ...

6. Federal Deficits and Recession: What Could Happen

   There are serious financial risks associated with running deficits during times of positive economic growth. One of the principal risks is that the budget cannot be balanced regardless of economic conditions because a permanent imbalance between how much ...

7. Nothing So Certain: Debt, Taxes, and Government Spending

   The 2004 Ontario budget has proven to be a watershed event. After months of floating policy trial balloons, the government has finally committed to a four-year fiscal plan. This Alert assesses the new fiscal plan in the light of the prior Progressive ...

8. Using Cash Rebates for Tax Relief Without Risk

   Since 1994, Paul Martin's fiscal policies have eliminated the budget deficit which had threatened Canada with serious financial instability. His prudent budget forecasts and the use of a contingency reserve have restored public faith in the budget ...