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1. Spending cuts impose less economic damage than tax hikes

   Among Ottawa and the 10 provinces, eight governments are currently in deficit, spending more than the revenues they collect. As Canadian governments seek to eliminate their budget deficits, they should take note of a new study by a group ...

2. Italy’s referendum—diminishing democracy or cutting the fat?

   On Dec. 4, Italian voters will be asked to cast their ballots on a constitutional referendum bill put forth by Prime Minister Matteo Renzi (pictured above). This referendum is essentially about streamlining the operations and functions ...

3. Dear Minister Ceci, when you’re in a hole, stop digging

   Finance Minister Joe Ceci (pictured above) released Alberta’s Second Quarter Fiscal Update this week, confirming that the province’s budget deficit this year will be even bigger than forecasted in his spring budget. While the budget ...

4. Spending choices, not a drop in oil prices, spurred Alberta’s chronic deficits

   Avoiding deficits during an oil boom should be a relatively straightforward proposition for governments in oil-rich jurisdictions. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case in Alberta. A recent Fraser Institute study compared how Alberta ...

5. Ontario’s plan is hardly working

   Today, the Wynne government released its fall statement—essentially an update on the state of Ontario’s economy and finances. The document’s second paragraph contains a shockingly out-of-touch sentence. It reads: “Our plan is working.” ...

6. Rosy rhetoric can’t hide Ontario’s dreary fiscal outlook

   Today, Ontario Finance Minister Charles Sousa (pictured above) will deliver Ontario’s fall economic update. It will no doubt be an upbeat narrative on how Ontario is on the road to economic growth and that the province’s finances are on ...

7. Morneau’s ‘Plan for Middle Class Progress’ cuts GDP by $131 billion

   Appeared in the Toronto Sun, November 2, 2016 On Tuesday, Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau released his government’s Fall Economic Statement titled A Plan for Middle Class Progress. As noted in the release, “Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced ...

8. Proven economic policies, not ‘bold ideas,’ needed to spur growth in Canada

   Later today federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau (pictured above) will meet with his government’s appointed Advisory Council on Economic Growth, which will provide advice on how to spark long-term growth in Canada. The council, led by ...

9. Federal deficits could total nearly $200 billion over next five years

   Appeared in the Financial Post, May 12, 2016 As the saying goes, a moving target is hard to hit. That is why repeated shifts in the federal government’s deficit and debt goals over the past six months have been so concerning. What started as a promise to ...

10. Moving Targets: Re-estimating Federal Deficits and Debt-to-GDP through 2020/21

    The federal government has repeatedly shifted the goal posts on its own “fiscal anchors.” This bulletin examines the robustness of the current “fiscal anchor” to reduce the debt-to-GDP ratio by the government’s first mandate. The 2016 federal budget ...