The Implications of an Aging Population for Government Finances in the Prairies is a new study that finds health-care expenditures in Saskatchewan and Manitoba will increase by an estimated 5.4 per cent and 4.9 per cent annually (respectively, on average) over the next 20 years, and as a result of the provinces’ changing demographics, they may not balance their budgets until at least 2040/41 unless changes to spending are made.

The Canada-US Energy Sector Competitiveness Survey ranks 22 North American jurisdictions (17 states and five provinces and territories) based on policies affecting oil and gas investment. This year, no Canadian jurisdiction made the top ten. Investors flagged uncertainty concerning environmental regulations, regulatory duplication and inconsistencies, and the cost of regulatory compliance as major areas of concern in Canadian jurisdictions compared to US states.

Tax and Expenditure Limitations for Canada’s Federal Government: A Primer is a new study that finds if the federal government had introduced more discipline on the growth in government spending beginning in 2015—even one that allowed for all the COVID emergency spending—the federal budget could have been balanced by 2025/26. Instead, the Parliamentary Budget Officer predicts it will be at least 2070 before the budget is balanced.