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1. Perverse incentives may help erode housing affordability

   Rising incomes and low interest rates have generated tremendous demand for housing across the country. ...

2. Alberta’s bleak economic outlook will hasten the decline of provincial finances

   Appeared in the Calgary Sun, April 22, 2020 Due to COVID-19, with many Albertans sheltering in place to avoid spreading the disease, the province’s economy is obviously taking a huge hit. And we also face a global oil glut, which made historic headlines ...

3. Calgary making tough tax decisions other cities aren’t

   Before the spread of COVID-19, Calgary was already struggling with another kind of acute problem—a municipal budget crisis. The energy industry’s half-decade-long downturn has led to soaring commercial space vacancies in the downtown core ...

4. Alberta spent during the good times, which means deeper red ink during these bad times

   Alberta’s fiscal trajectory over the past decade has been troubling to say the least. Through good times and bad, the provincial government has run large deficits that have eroded the province’s financial assets. Now, the combined forces ...

5. Alberta deficit likely far worse than expected

   The Kenney government recently released its second budget since taking office. At the time of the budget’s publication, the government hoped to continue its gradual path back to budget balance by 2022/23. Unfortunately, the dual shock of ...

6. Two proposed projects—one in Ontario, one in B.C.—throw renters a lifeline

   In the greater Toronto and Vancouver areas, rents keep rising and rental vacancies remain low. ...

7. Alberta careening towards fiscal disaster

   Appeared in the Calgary Sun, March 11, 2020 Successive Alberta governments have mismanaged the province’s finances for decades. The recent oil price drop and stock market crash means Alberta’s finances, already in trouble, are now potentially careening ...

8. Alberta’s finances still rapidly eroding

   The Government of Alberta has been burning through financial assets at an alarming pace ever since the 2008 financial crisis. While the provincial economy quickly recovered from that short-but-deep recession, successive governments still ...

9. Kenney buys another ticket for the resource roller-coaster

   Appeared in the Edmonton Journal, March 3, 2020 The Kenney government has promised to balance the budget by 2022/23. Its plan to get there, however, relies on rapid increases in natural resource revenues. In other words, the government plans to take ...

10. At this rate, Alberta’s debt could look like Ontario’s in a decade

    Appeared in the Edmonton Journal, February 4, 2020 Alberta has a reputation for being a low-debt jurisdiction. In fact, heading into the 2008-09 financial crisis, the province had amassed $35 billion in net financial assets. In other words, unlike every ...