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1. Prime Ministers and Government Spending: Updated 2021 Edition

   Per-person federal program spending (adjusted for inflation) reached $17,121 in 2020-21, by far the highest level in Canada’s history. Non-COVID-related per-person spending in 2020-21 was $11,165. Moreover, federal spending is estimated to reach ...

2. Repairing Alberta's Heritage Fund for the Long Term

   In 1976/77, Alberta’s Heritage Savings Trust Fund was created to save a share of the province’s resource wealth so as to provide benefits to Albertans in the future. Unfortunately, the Heritage Fund has been limited in its ability to do so as consistent ...

3. Measuring Progressivity in Canada’s Tax System

   There is a common misperception in Canada that top income earners do not pay their share of taxes and that increasing taxes on this income group is an effective way to generate significant additional government revenue. However, high-income ...

4. A New (Old) Fiscal Rule for Non-Renewable Resource Revenue in Alberta

   Alberta’s government finances are once again in a perilous state with ongoing deficits, mounting debt and near record levels of spending. One of the greatest contributors to Alberta’s fiscal instability is the provincial government’s treatment of non ...

5. Lessons for Fiscal Reform from the Klein Era

   Alberta is facing serious fiscal challenges, including a historic deficit and rapid debt accumulation that extend beyond the COVID shock. This is not the first time Alberta’s finances have been in trouble. Today’s situation has parallels to the ...

6. Education Spending in Public Schools in Canada, 2021 Edition

   This study examines changes in education spending on public schools in Canada from 2013/14 to 2017/18. It is clear from the data that from 2013/14 to 2017/18 Canada has increased education spending in public schools beyond what was required to account for ...

7. Illustrating the Tax Implications of a Guaranteed Annual Income

   Policymakers and the general public have paid increasing attention to the notion of introducing a GAI program in Canada. A guaranteed annual income (GAI) is a cash transfer paid by the government to individuals or households to ensure a minimum ...

8. Canada’s Rising Personal Tax Rates and Falling Tax Competitiveness, 2020

   In December 2015, Canada’s new Liberal government introduced changes to Canada’s personal income tax system. Among the changes for the 2016 tax year, the federal government added a new income tax bracket, raising the top tax rate from 29 to 33 percent on ...

9. Explaining the Growth in Federal Program Spending since 2015

   In 2019, federal program spending reached $322.9 billion, an increase of $69.1 billion or 27.2% (nominal) since 2015. After adjusting for inflation, the increase in program spending is still sizeable at $50.2 billion or 18.4%. The government finances ...

10. Is Fiscal Stimulus an Effective Policy Response to a Recession? Reviewing the Existing Research

    This report examines existing academic studies that analyze evidence regarding the effectiveness of fiscal stimulus—additional government spending and/or tax relief—as a mechanism to mitigate the impact of a recession and speed up economic ...