Deficits & Debt

No Sign of Significant Debt Reduction or Tax Relief in Ford’s Spring 2023 Budget – It’s All Spend, Spend, Spend!

— Jul 5, 2023

No Sign of Significant Debt Reduction or Tax Relief in Ford’s Spring 2023 Budget—It’s All Spend, Spend, Spend! is a new study that details what the current Ontario government could have achieved in terms of lower taxes, surpluses and debt relief if it had maintained the spending levels of the previous Wynne government. Instead, the current government has increased spending by $9.5 billion above the average (inflation adjusted) annual spending of its predecessor, and is forecasting a $1.3 billion deficit this year.

How Provincial Governments Respond to Fiscal Shocks and Federal Transfers

— May 2, 2023

How Provincial Governments Respond to Fiscal Shocks and Federal Transfers is a new study that finds despite misperceptions that government deficits have no cost, higher deficit-financed spending by provincial governments over the past 50 years has, in fact, led to higher taxes and higher debt-servicing costs for taxpayers.

Stress Testing the Federal Fiscal Anchor

— Mar 16, 2023

Stress Testing the Federal Fiscal Anchor finds that that there is a 30 per cent chance that the federal debt to GDP ratio will increase over a 10-year time period, meaning the federal government would fail to achieve its core fiscal goal.

Prime Ministers and Government Spending: 2023 Edition

— Mar 9, 2023

Prime Ministers and Government Spending:2023 Edition is a new study that finds federal spending reached $19,208 per-person in 2020-21, which represents the single highest level in the country’s history, with the current federal government is on track to record the five highest levels of per-person spending (2018 to 2022) in Canadian history.

Federal and Provincial Debt-Interest Costs for Canadians, 2023 edition

— Feb 2, 2023

Federal and Provincial Debt Interest Costs for Canadians, 2023 edition is a new study that finds Canadians in every province will pay more than $1,300 per person in 2022/23 on government interest costs, totalling $68.6 billion on interest payments for the federal and provincial debts.

The Growing Debt Burden for Canadians: 2023 Edition

— Jan 10, 2023

The Growing Debt Burden for Canadians: 2023 Edition finds that not only has Canada’s projected combined government debt (the federal debt and the provincial debt of all 10 provinces) nearly doubled since 2007/08, the year before the last recession, but the combined debt now equals 74.6 per cent of the Canadian economy.