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1. Blog series part 1—Trudeau government produced string of deficits, raised taxes on middle class

   The Trudeau Liberals were elected in 2015 promising a new direction in tax, spending and borrowing policies from the previous 20 years. For instance, in their 2015 platform, the Liberals stated that: “Canada’s economy has faltered, and ...

2. Young people living with their parents could receive $11.8 billion from CERB

   Appeared in the National Post, July 16, 2020 Prudent use of public finances should always be a top priority for any government. With the federal budget deficit now projected to reach almost $350 billion, Ottawa should apply additional prudence to new and ...

3. Distribution of CERB: Estimating the Number of Eligible Young People Living with Parents

   The Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) is a flat, taxable $2,000 monthly benefit provided to eligible Canadians. The initial 16-week program was estimated to cost $53.4 billion after cost recoveries from taxation. The program was recently ...

4. COVID-19 isn’t the only reason for our mega-deficit

   Appeared in the Financial Post, July 8, 2020 Today, the Trudeau government presents a “snapshot” of federal finances that’s likely to blame this year’s historic federal deficit on COVID-19 and the recession. But that’s only part of the story. The federal ...

5. Trudeau government should provide fiscal projections to Canadians

   The CERB is now estimated to cost $61.1 billion compared to the original estimate of $40.6 billion. ...

6. ‘Creative destruction’ can help Canada recover from COVID recession

   Appeared in the Financial Post, July 2, 2020 As more and more Canadians, and indeed people around the globe, focus on how best to foster economic recovery from one of the deepest recessions in history, the ideas of economist Joseph Schumpeter should be ...

7. The Essential Joseph Schumpeter

   The Essential Joseph Schumpeter is a new book, accompanying website and animated video series that explores the key ideas of the most accomplished economists of the 20th century. In particular, it spotlights Schumpeter’s insights on entrepreneurship, ...

8. Explaining the Growth in Federal Program Spending since 2015

   In 2019, federal program spending reached $322.9 billion, an increase of $69.1 billion or 27.2% (nominal) since 2015. After adjusting for inflation, the increase in program spending is still sizeable at $50.2 billion or 18.4%. The government finances ...

9. Think-tanks provide competing views on stimulus and infrastructure spending

   With the worst of COVID hopefully subsiding and economies beginning to reopen, governments are turning their attention to policies to promote and aid the economic recovery. As should be the case, think-tanks, academics, business groups ...

10. Alberta’s outsized role in Canada matters for all Canadians

    Appeared in the Globe and Mail, June 23, 2020 Last week, Alberta’s “ Fair Deal Panel ” submitted its long-awaited report, which recommends Alberta conduct a referendum on equalization and consider withdrawing from the Canada Pension Plan. All of this ...