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1. Ford government pursuing McGuinty-style deficit-reduction strategy

   According to government forecasts, Ontario’s debt will climb to $502 billion in 2023/24. ...

2. Ford government faces critical decisions as budget day looms

   According to forecasts, Ontario's net government debt will approach $463 billion in 2022/23. ...

3. Ontario’s finances—back to the ’90s?

   During the early 1990s, the federal government and many provinces faced severe fiscal challenges so daunting that many described the situation as a crisis. As governments across the country run historically large deficits in response to ...

4. Ontario’s red ink—the Ford government should heed lessons from recent past

   The Ford government recently government tabled its budget for the 2020/21 year. Unsurprisingly, given the pandemic and recession, Ontario is on track to run a large operating budget deficit this year—an estimated $38.5 billion. The budget ...

5. Premier Ford’s choice is clear—more government debt or real reform

   Appeared in the Ottawa Sun, August 15, 2020 On Wednesday, Ontario Finance Minister Rod Phillips released the province’s first quarter finances for the 2020/2021 fiscal year. The update is sobering to anybody concerned about Ontario’s well-being. The ...

6. 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 ...

7. Ford’s former finance minister proffers sound advice for his successor

   Appeared in the Ottawa Sun, June 26, 2019 Last week, Premier Doug Ford announced a major cabinet shuffle in Ontario. Among the most important moves was the removal of Vic Fedeli (pictured above) as finance minister, to be replaced by Rod Phillips. ...

8. Ontario’s Deficit Reduction Strategy Mirrors Previous, Unsuccessful Attempts

   This study analyzes the first budget of the new Progressive Conservative government in Ontario, tabled in early April 2019, to assess the extent to which it reflects either a fundamental shift in fiscal policy from the policies of the Ford government’s ...

9. Increased public school spending contributing to Ontario's deficit

   Appeared in the Ottawa Sun, February 6, 2019 Recently, Premier Ford’s government appeared to open the door to the possibility of eventually ending full-day kindergarten in Ontario as a deficit-fighting measure. Critics pounced on the government, saying ...

10. A visit from the ghost of Ontario’s fiscal future

    Appeared in the Ottawa Sun, December 19, 2019 In Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” Scrooge is memorably visited by the “ghost of Christmas future” who shows him a disturbing glimpse of things to come. Last week Ontario was visited by a ghost of the ...