The relative size of government in Canada is well beyond the “optimal” size for promoting productivity growth.
federal government spending
Canada ranks 6th highest among 35 high-income for the share of the economy represented by government spending.
The federal debt will reach nearly 70 per cent of GDP by 2050.
All the disposable income of Canada’s top earners—those earning $250,000 or more annually—would fund only 25 per cent of the GAI.
Ottawa has spent billions on its innovation agenda including $950 million to five hand-picked sectors of the economy.
In the 1990s, federal debt-interest costs routinely eclipsed 30 per cent of revenues.
Green technologies that were known money-losers pre-COVID remain money-losers today.
Evidence suggests that a 1.0 percentage point increase in spending produces a 0.75 percentage point drop in economic growth.
The Trudeau government’s recent fiscal update forecasted a $343 billion deficit this year.