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1. Federal Budget 2021—a preview of what you won’t see

   At 79 per cent, Canada had the fastest growth in its debt-to-GDP ratio in the G-7. ...

2. Federal finances ‘careening downhill’ fast

   It has now been nearly a week since federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland released the fall economic statement (FES). After a suitable period of digestion, it’s still unclear where exactly federal finances are heading aside from very ...

3. Canada’s fiscal situation near crisis levels

   As the pandemic continues, Ottawa and the provinces have embarked on a fiscal cruise whose ultimate port of destination is not necessarily a safe harbour. With an estimated federal deficit of more than $343 billion for 2020-21 combined ...

4. Federal debt may eclipse $1 trillion for first time in Canadian history

   The fiscal response to the COVID-19 crisis has been large at the federal and provincial levels. The reduction in economic activity and subsequent reduced government revenues has produced massive deficits. At the provincial level, ...

5. Government policies hurting—not helping—on several fronts

   Picture if you will the following scenario. There’s a forest fire underway. How to deal with it? One logical approach is to deploy firefighters and waterbombers to extinguish the fire. Another approach is to light a number of smaller and ...

6. Wartime presidents added most to U.S. federal debt-to-GDP ratio

   The total federal debt of the United States has grown steeply in recent years and now stands at almost $22 trillion or about 107 per cent of GDP. While it’s tempting to conclude that the buck always stops with a sitting president, every ...

7. The Trudeau and Ford governments—two fiscal statements, one debt problem

   Appeared in the National Newswatch, November 14, 2018 Both the Ford government in Ontario and the Trudeau government in Ottawa will release their fall fiscal and economic statements this month. Despite a tendency to compartmentalize these separate events, ...

8. Government debt a more pressing concern than household debt in Canada

   The recent interest rate hike by the Bank of Canada has renewed concerns over household debt and the ability of Canadians to manage rising debt service costs, given that household debt has reached record levels. However, as a recent ...