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1. Balanced budget spin aside, Ontario’s finances are still a mess

   Ontario will acquire approximately $50 billion in new debt between now and 2020/21. ...

2. Reality check on education spending in Ontario

   Appeared in the Toronto Sun, March 16, 2016 There’s a lot to criticize in Ontario's 2016 budget, which was released late last month. Specifically, the province has failed to take adequate steps to rein in overall spending, and as a result the ...

3. Little to celebrate from last week’s Ontario budget

   Appeared in the Toronto Sun, March 1, 2016 Despite the upbeat spin from Queen’s Park, last week’s provincial budget doesn’t give much cause for celebration when it comes to the health of provincial finances. The Wynne government still needs to come to ...

4. Reality check—Ontario’s budget is unrealistic

   The Ontario government has again promised a balanced budget by 2017-18 in its latest aspirational fiscal document but achieving its goal is based on a fervent hope that the economy will recover and revenues will grow faster than ...

5. Budgetary smoke and mirrors explain a significant portion of Ontario’s deficit decline

   There is very little to feel reassured about when it comes to Ontario finance minister Charles Sousa’s latest budget. Minister Sousa boasted that this year's operating deficit will be $1.8 billion smaller than planned, and ...

6. Ontario Budget: dark cloud of government debt continues to hang over the province

   Today, the Wynne government tabled a budget with a bit of good news for Ontarians. Specifically, we learned that the operating deficit in 2015/16 will be somewhat smaller (at $5.7 billion) than was previously expected ($7.5 billion)—due ...

7. Ontario budget: spending growth responsible for province’s fiscal mess

   Appeared in the Globe and Mail, February 25, 2016 On Thursday, Ontario will table its 2016 budget with all signs pointing to more red ink. This is par for the course, given that the province has run deficits in 10 of the past 13 years, averaging $9.7 ...

8. Increased interest rates could sink Ontario's budget plan, increase costs to taxpayers

   With Ontario tabling its 2016 budget on Thursday, it’s important to keep in mind there are risks to the provincial government’s promise of balancing its budget by 2017/18. One risk that does not receive much attention, but could ...

9. Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne’s fiscal performance: red ink and high taxes

   Each year the Fraser Institute measures and ranks the performance of Canada’s premiers in terms of how well their governments managed provincial finances while in office. Premiers who managed spending more prudently, balanced the books, ...

10. Why Ontario won’t balance its budget

    In what is perhaps the longest running example of faith-based fiscal policy, Ontario’s government continues to insist it will balance its budget by 2017-18. It’s unlikely to deviate from this mantra as it readies to release its budget ...