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1. Things the Liberal government knows that just ain’t so—Canada is the ‘best place to invest’

   Appeared in the Hill Times, March 11, 2020 Despite all the evidence, Prime Minister Trudeau, his government (and those around them) really believe their policies have made Canada the best place to invest. For example, the government's new Invest in ...

2. Federal government making up fiscal rules on the fly

   Appeared in Calgary's Business, January 5, 2020 Last month, before the holidays, the Trudeau government released its fall economic update, which revealed—among other issues—that Canada’s federal debt-to-GDP ratio increased, meaning Canada’s debt has ...

3. Media fuels Morneau’s state of denial

   Appeared in the National Post, September 6, 2019 When economic information is released on a Friday before a long weekend, you can assume there’s a strategic reason, which usually results in the sound of crickets from the media. But that sure wasn’t the ...

4. Private Sector Capital Expenditures in Canada: An Industry-Level Analysis

   There has been much debate recently about Canada’s industrial competitiveness compared to other developed countries, particularly the US. In particular, concerns have been raised about recent declines in private sector capital expenditures, especially in ...

5. Walled from Competition: Measuring Protected Industries in Canada

   Consumers are best served by firms when the latter are exposed to the threat of competition. Absent the possibility of new firms threatening their incumbent status, established players have less incentive to cut costs and prices and improve services. The ...

6. Paying companies to stay—bad idea

   The Legault government in Quebec tabled its first budget last week. While some aspects of the budget are admirable, other aspects raise serious economic concerns. Perhaps most troubling is the government’s decision to set aside $1 billion ...

7. Canadian Foreign Direct Investment: Recent Patterns and Interpretation

   Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is a prominent feature of globalization. It occurs when an investor resident in one country acquires management control of an enterprise located in another country. FDI inflows improve the efficiency of the host ...

8. Government policies have made Canada less-attractive to investment in energy industry

   Appeared in the Calgary Sun, March 6, 2019 It’s hard not to recognize that Canada—and Alberta—have become less-appealing places to do business in recent years. Last month another foreign oil company, U.S.-based Devon Energy, announced plans to exit the ...

9. What happens when Canada ignores incentives and competitiveness

   Appeared in the Winnipeg Free Press, February 5, 2019 Anecdotes of Canadian firms leaving or diverting investments outside the country have continued unabated from 2018. The federal and many provincial governments seem reluctant to acknowledge this ...

10. Labour participation and job creation rates tell untold tale of Canadian economy

    Canada’s employment rate has steadily declined since December 2017—from 62.0 per cent to 61.5 per cent. ...