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1. As Trudeau government tables budget, don’t be fooled by positive short-term economic news

   Between 2016 and 2019, per-person GDP grew at an average annual rate of only 0.8 per cent. ...

2. Scoring the economic performance of Canada’s last five prime ministers

   The 2016-2019 period had the weakest economic performance of the five periods analyzed. ...

3. Comparing Economic Performance in Five Pre-Recession Periods

   This study contrasts the economic performance in the last five pre-recession periods: 1986–1989 (Mulroney), 1997–2000 (Chrétien), 2005–2008 (Martin-Harper), 2011–2014 (Harper), and 2016–2019 (Trudeau). It includes multiple measures for income, labour, and ...

4. Canada’s spending and deficits higher than comparable countries during pandemic

   Governments around the world have significantly ramped up spending due to the COVID-19 recession. However, recent data from the International Monetary Fund’s semi-annual fiscal monitor reveals that Canada has largely outpaced other ...

5. Trudeau government spending billions to make people better off than before recession

   Appeared in the Vancouver Province, September 8, 2020 We recently analyzed almost $82 billion in COVID-related spending—specifically CERB, the student assistance benefit (CESB), and one-time payments linked to Old Age Security (OAS), the Guaranteed Income ...

6. 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 ...

7. ‘Creative destruction’ can help Canada recover from COVID recession

   Appeared in the Financial Post, July 2, 2020 As more and more Canadians, and indeed people around the globe, focus on how best to foster economic recovery from one of the deepest recessions in history, the ideas of economist Joseph Schumpeter should be ...

8. Getting political responsibility right in times of crises

   More often than not, politicians are given too much credit for both economic expansions (i.e. prosperity) as well as recessions. That’s not to say that policies don’t matter because they do. But the idea that a politician or government ...

9. Ontario budget deficit likely larger than forecast

   We recently blogged on the Ontario government’s March 2020 Economic and Fiscal Update (hereafter simply referred to as the Fiscal Update), which we concluded was too optimistic in its economic and revenue assumptions, and included new ...

10. Trudeau government ‘wage subsidy’ increases uncertainty for workers and businesses

    Appeared in the Financial Post, April 3, 2020 During these troubled and uncertain times, Canadian households and businesses need certainty from governments including certainty about how government will help stabilize incomes for Canadians and businesses, ...