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1. Withstand the trade war by trading more

   Canada and the United States are in a trade war. The ongoing drama of NAFTA negotiations, and the possibility that the current trade arrangements, may not continue raises an important question. What is the Trudeau government’s Plan B? ...

2. Trans Mountain pipeline—federal intervention entirely political

   So the Trudeau government is going to buy the Trans Mountain pipeline and related infrastructure for $4.5 billion. Moreover, there may be additional costs if the government builds the expanded pipeline, which Kinder Morgan estimated at ...

3. Ontario’s election—the real economic issues

   Ontario’s June 7 election may be a watershed moment as the new government will deal with an economy that, despite the recent improvement, still faces major challenges with employment and investment, given a housing boom is not a ...

4. Ontario’s net debt may hit $500 billion by 2026-27

   The size of Ontario’s provincial deficit has become a matter of some debate. The Wynne government’s 2018 budget projected a deficit of $6.7 billion. But according to a recent report from the auditor general, Ontario’s deficit may be even ...

5. Actually, including capital spending, Ontario’s deficit is more than $32 billion

   Ontario’s 2018 provincial budget saw total operating expense reach $158.5 billion with total revenues at $152.5 billion, for a deficit of just over $6 billion. But there has been some debate over government accounting methods and the ...

6. Quebec expects operating surplus of $904 million compared to Alberta’s $8.8 billion deficit

   In spring, the thoughts of provincial governments turn to budgets, and all the provinces have now unveiled their 2018 budgets starting with New Brunswick in January and most recently Saskatchewan last week. TD Economics maintains a very ...

7. Debt and decline—Ontario’s challenges in three snapshots

   Ontario’s upcoming provincial budget will likely include a significant increase in government spending with an eye on the spring election. Liberal Finance Minister Charles Sousa has already indicated that the pre-election budget will now ...

8. Canadian household debt concerns are overblown

   Once again, alarms are sounding about the level of household debt in Canada. A recent Financial Post story highlighted reports by both Equifax Canada and the Swiss-based Bank of International Settlements (BIS) about the growing household ...

9. Ottawa using bounty of robust growth to simply boost spending

   The recently-released 2018 federal budget calls for growth in both spending and revenues. Between 2017-18 and 2022-23, total revenues are forecast to grow from $309.6 billion to $373.9 billion—an increase of 21 per cent. After a three ...

10. Ottawa should uphold the Constitution and create a true economic union

    While we have just celebrated the 150th anniversary of Confederation, the Canadian economic union is still nowhere near what was originally envisioned by the founders of the Canadian federation. Among the objectives of Confederation were ...