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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. 1990s put Alberta’s fiscal problems into alarming perspective

   As a share of the provincial economy, Alberta's recent deficits are larger than those incurred in the early ’90s. ...

3. 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 ...

4. Trudeau government can’t bank on low interest rates forever

   Appeared in the Ottawa Sun, January 27, 2021 Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland recently stated the obvious—that she has “no crystal ball” to determine when interest rates will rise. Indeed, governments can’t control interest rates nor guarantee they will ...

5. High spending and persistent deficits have driven Alberta’s government debt problem

   The Kenney government is asking Albertans for input on how to tackle the province’s growing debt and begin a path towards a more prosperous future. But before determining a path forward, it’s necessary to understand the province’s fiscal ...

6. 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 ...

7. To avoid fiscal crisis, Trudeau government must learn from history

   Canada’s near-debt crisis in the early 1990s showed what happens when governments ignore and continually defer meaningful action to address ongoing fiscal problems—namely, excessive spending, deficits and debt. Worryingly, the Trudeau ...

8. COVID-19 isn’t the only reason for our mega-deficit

   Appeared in the Financial Post, July 8, 2020 Today, the Trudeau government presents a “snapshot” of federal finances that’s likely to blame this year’s historic federal deficit on COVID-19 and the recession. But that’s only part of the story. The federal ...

9. 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 ...

10. 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 ...