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1. Trudeau government—and provincial governments across Canada—can learn from past fiscal consolidations

   Introduction Prior to the COVID recession, Canada faced significant fiscal challenges. These challenges were most severe at the provincial level. For example, Ontario had run uninterrupted deficits for over a decade, while Alberta had ...

2. Alberta’s economic health remains a matter of national importance

   It’s well known that Ottawa has run substantial budget deficits in recent years. The federal deficit weighed in at approximately $19 billion in both 2016/17 and 2017/18. But what’s perhaps less understood, however, is that those deficits ...

3. Ontario's 'slow and steady' deficit-reduction will not win the race

   In the spring, the Ford government tabled its 2019/20 budget, which included a five-year plan to balance Ontario’s budget. The government’s decision to continue to run budget deficits for such a long time carries significant risks and ...

4. Blame game aside, the Trudeau government should accept responsibility for its spending choices

   Appeared in the Globe and Mail, July 15, 2017 On the campaign trail in 2015, Justin Trudeau's Liberals promised to hold federal deficits to $10 billion or less during their first few years in office before returning to a balanced budget in 2019/20. ...

5. Alberta’s run of deficits tower over Ontario’s worst

   Appeared in the Financial Post, May 30, 2017 Over the past decade, Ontario emerged as the poster child for poor fiscal management in Canada, due largely to the province’s deep run of deficits. However, thanks to a decade of rapid spending growth and ...

6. Race to the Bottom: Comparing the Recent Deficits of Alberta and Ontario

   Alberta’s public finances are deteriorating rapidly, with the provincial government set to run a cumulative budget deficit of $27.6 billion over the three-year period from 2015/16 to 2017/18. Until recently, by far the largest deficits of any ...

7. Wynne government missing big picture on Ontario finances

   Appeared in the Financial Post, October 6, 2016 The Ontario government is reportedly in a spat with the province’s auditor general about the size of last year’s deficit. The auditor general pegs the shortfall at $5 billion, whereas the government, using a ...

8. The new normal in Canada—deficits without end

   Appeared in the National Post, April 4, 2016 Alberta’s Finance Minister Joe Ceci, set to deliver his budget April 14, recently said he does not know when the province will eliminate its annual operating deficit, rumoured to be $10.4 billion this coming ...

9. Moving targets, routine deficits, and Canada’s short-lived federal ‘fiscal anchor’

   Appeared in the Financial Post, February 25, 2016 During last fall’s federal election, the Liberals campaigned on a commitment to run budget deficits for its first three years, while promising that the size of those deficits would be capped at $10 billion ...

10. Trudeau should rethink the finance minister’s mandate

    Appeared in the New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal, November 24, 2015 In an attempt to increase transparency, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has made “mandate letters” to his ministers publicly available. These letters are intended to clarify the focus of ...