Government Spending

Alberta’s “Spending Restraint” in Perspective is a new study that finds although the Alberta government’s current plan to restrain program spending increases is a constructive way to bring provincial spending more in line with sustainable revenues, doing so will be hindered by increases in per person spending introduced over the last two years. In fact, program spending this year will reach $14,334 per Albertan, which is $1,603 more per person (inflation-adjusted) than the government planned to spend this year as outlined in the 2022 mid-year budget update.

How Have Canadian Federal Governments Responded to Budget Deficits? is a new study that measures how Canadian federal governments have responded to budget deficits over the last 150 years. It finds that a delay in balancing the budget will require deeper spending cuts and higher tax hikes in the future than if the government balanced the budget now. Put simply, it is better if the federal government embarks on fiscal adjustment early on, rather than postponing deficit elimination.