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1. Canadian household debt concerns are overblown

   Once again, alarms are sounding about the level of household debt in Canada. A recent Financial Post story highlighted reports by both Equifax Canada and the Swiss-based Bank of International Settlements (BIS) about the growing household ...

2. Tax hatred? No, tax awareness and tax reform

   Among the modern criteria for a good tax system are the principles of efficiency and equity. But another important principle is also awareness—that is, taxpayers should be aware of the taxes the pay and the benefits they receive from ...

3. 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 ...

4. Major changes to Canada’s federal personal income tax—1917-2017

   As a result of the funding demands of the First World War, Canada’s federal government introduced both a personal and corporate income tax in 1917. The advent of the personal income tax in particular marked a significant shift in federal ...

5. Two federal budgets, one problem—spending

   It’s federal budget season in Canada and the United States, with a common feature—fiscal planning driven by aspirations. Both federal governments plan major expenditure increases designed to promote objectives that, in the end, will ...

6. Canada’s rising federal employment—making sense of the numbers

   The public sector and the functioning of government bureaucracies, especially when it comes to employment, should be of great interest to taxpayers at all levels of our federation. In the case of Canada’s federal government, its core ...

7. Today’s federal fiscal update—that '70s show

   Patterns recur in the course of human events. In the case of federal government finances, with today’s federal fiscal update we are about to embark on a path with parallels to the 1970s. The ’70s represent a structural break in Canadian ...

8. Infrastructure spending in Canada: pick a multibillion dollar number

   The need for infrastructure spending in Canada is getting a lot of attention this election, with all the parties presenting platform planks on the amounts they would spend, which in turn is generating unprecedented anticipation among ...

9. Can Canada Prosper Without a Prosperous Ontario?

   Ontario's economic struggles, which are most dramatically illustrated by its transition to a "have-not" province, have implications far beyond the borders of the province. For the better part of a decade, and particularly since the ...