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1. Economic Performance in Ontario CMAs: A National Comparative Perspective

   Several recent Fraser Institute studies have documented the weak economic performance in Ontario over the past 20 years outside of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), and to a lesser extent Ottawa. This bulletin builds on that analysis by examining ...

2. Measuring the Equalization Clawback on Natural Resource Revenue in Have-Not Provinces

   Over time, critics have identified many problems with Canada’s equalization program. This study will examine and quantify one such problem: the disincentive that the program creates for the development and deployment of natural resources in “have-not” ...

3. Equalization and Stabilization Post-Recession: Is Canada Ready?

   Is Canada’s existing system of federal transfers designed to respond adequately to economic volatility across the country and more precisely to rapid changes in relative income levels across provinces? The purpose of this paper is to investigate this ...

4. A Turning Point or More of the Same? Ontario's Fiscal Choices in Budget 2019

   As the Ford government approaches its first full budget, it must decide how to confront the $13.6 billion deficit it faces, as well as the stock of public debt forecasted to reach $346 billion this year. There is nothing new about Ontario’s difficult ...

5. A Spending Framework for Alberta: Balancing the Need for Deficit Elimination and Tax Reform

   This paper calculates the extent of spending reductions that Alberta would need to make over the next three years to eliminate the province’s budget deficit by fiscal year 2021/22 while also creating the necessary fiscal room for pro-growth tax relief. ...

6. Time for Tax Reform in Ontario

   Over the past fifteen years, Ontario’s provincial economy has struggled relative to the rest of the country. The reasons for Ontario’s economic weakness are complex and varied. However, public policy choices have been a contributing factor. One area that ...

7. Removing resource revenue from equalization would do nothing for Alberta

   Appeared in National Newswatch, October 5, 2017 Recently Jason Kenney (pictured above), candidate for the leadership of Alberta’s United Conservative Party, called for reform to Canada’s equalization program. Specifically, he suggested a referendum in ...

8. Should equalization really grow forever?

   Appeared in the Calgary Herald, August 22, 2017 The relative economic strength of Canada’s provinces has shifted in recent years, as former powerhouses have struggled while former laggards have improved. Canada’s equalization program, in present form, is ...

9. Should Equalization Keep On Growing in an Era of Converging Fiscal Capacity?

   Equalization is a federal government program that aims to provide Canadians in all provinces with access to reasonably comparable public services at comparable levels of taxation. It attempts to achieve this objective by providing cash payments from the ...

10. Ontario’s economic pain is spread unevenly around the province

    Appeared in the Toronto Sun, December 2, 2016 It’s no secret Ontario has experienced economic pain in recent years. This pain, however, has not been spread evenly. While the province’s overall economic performance has been nothing to write home about, ...