Search

Search results

1. Alberta’s decline is a chance for other Western provinces

   Appeared in the Calgary Herald In its recent Speech from the Throne, the new Alberta government reiterated its plans to make life more expensive in Alberta. Over time, to recap: The new NDP government will a) raise business income tax by 20 per cent (to ...

2. Some Alberta economic facts of life

   Appeared in the Calgary Herald In a famous explanation of why voters choose the governments they do, a 1990s-era adviser to Bill Clinton remarked, “It’s the economy, stupid.” That’s not wholly accurate; voters toss parties out (and vote parties in) on ...

3. Does Alberta need a sales tax?

   Appeared in the Calgary Herald, Jan 17, 2015 With oil prices plunging and provincial resource revenues expected to drop, Alberta’s red ink will rise. In response, Premier Jim Prentice has floated the notion of a provincial sales tax and/or hikes in other ...

4. Worried about Alberta’s budget? Stop counting on high resource prices

   Appeared in the Calgary Herald Forty-one billion dollars. That’s the extra amount, over and above what was needed to keep pace with population growth and inflation between 2006 and 2013, this to fund Alberta government program spending in those years. So ...

5. Ontario versus the West: No contest

   Appeared in the Globe and Mail When Ontario Finance Minister Charles Sousa announced a budget update and a revised, lower forecast for provincial economic growth, it was yet another piece of evidence that Ontario’s economy is sluggish. But Ontario’s ...

6. The New West: Money, jobs and a flood of young adults

     Question: If you’re young, or have very little education, where’s the best place in the country to find a job, make a decent income and prosper? Answer: Alberta, followed by Saskatchewan and British Columbia. Most Canadians likely suspect that economic ...

7. Go West, Young Adults: The 10-Year Western Boom in Investment, Jobs and Incomes

   If a young Canadian seeks economic opportunity—that is, employment and the chance to achieve at least a middle class income—which provinces can best provide those opportunities? The data show that Western Canada is the land of opportunity for young adults ...

8. Post-boom Spending in Alberta: A $41 billion splurge and lost opportunities

   The province of Alberta substantially increased program spending after 2004/05, beyond the combined effect of inflation plus population growth. The result was that in subsequent years (2005/06 to 2012/13 inclusive), the province spent $300.5 billion—$41 ...

9. How Alberta blew through an extra $41 billion

   Appeared in the National Post Governments, like families, have choices. And governments, as with families, sometimes make picks that close off other options. Spend a lot of money on having dinner out every night and that might foreclose the purchase of a ...

10. Want a middle class? Imitate Alberta and Saskatchewan

    Appeared in the Calgary Herald There has been much handwringing over the claimed disappearance of the middle class. From a bestselling international tome to domestic tax-and-spend types who think higher taxes will create more middle-income earners, there ...