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1. Ford government must prepare for post-COVID spending cuts

   Appeared in the Ottawa Sun, May 5, 2020 Recently, RBC Economics published new estimates of this year’s deficits and debt accumulation for all 10 Canadian provinces. The news was predictably grim. According to forecasts, all provinces will run large ...

2. Taxpayers likely to feel city hall’s COVID cash crunch

   Municipalities in Ontario are reeling from the pandemic. Some have announced large drops in revenues. Toronto, for example, projects a $1.5 billion loss in revenues in 2020 if there’s a three-month lockdown followed by a six-month ...

3. 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 ...

4. Ontario’s mini-budget shows provincial deficit will increase

   This week, the Ontario government published a Fiscal and Economic Update, which will essentially serve as a “mini-budget,” laying out the government’s revenue projections and spending plans for this year. The update shows the province’s ...

5. Say goodbye to Ontario’s ‘lost decade’ of debt and economic pain

   Appeared in the Ottawa Sun, December 18, 2019 The 2010s are drawing to a close. Unfortunately, it was a disastrous decade for the Ontario government’s financial health. It’s worth looking back at the damage to help us understand the importance of not ...

6. Controlling government wages crucial to Ford’s deficit-reduction plan

   Appeared in the Ottawa Sun, December 11, 2019 It’s no secret that Ontario faces challenges with its annual operating budget deficit and growing government debt. Last year, the deficit clocked in at $7.4 billion. Another deficit is forecasted for 2019/20, ...

7. Ontario should learn from Quebec’s debt reduction

   Appeared in the Ottawa Sun, November 13, 2019 Ontario is in debt, big time. And the Ford government does not have a plan to meaningfully reduce that debt burden. In fact, compared to Quebec, a province which had a well-earned reputation for poor fiscal ...

8. Ford government should more forcefully target deficit, housing costs

   Ontario’s Fall Economic Statement will be released next week and will set the stage for the Ford government’s second budget and policy direction. This will come after last year’s retreat from a mishandled program of expenditure restraint. ...

9. Ford government remains Wynne-like with the deficit

   Appeared in the Toronto Sun, September 12, 2019 Last week, a special “Blue Ribbon” panel on Alberta’s finances published its final report, which includes a plan to balance Alberta’s budget and stop the province’s rapid debt accumulation. Among other ...

10. Ontario's 'slow and steady' deficit-reduction will not win the race

    In the spring, the Ford government tabled its 2019/20 budget, which included a five-year plan to balance Ontario’s budget. The government’s decision to continue to run budget deficits for such a long time carries significant risks and ...