Who was Barbara Mitchell?
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Comparing Economic Performance in Five Pre-Recession Periods is a new study that compares numerous economic indicators relating to income growth, labour markets and business investment for the last five pre-recessionary periods: 1986-1989, 1997-2000, 2005-2008, 2011-2014, and 2016-2019. On almost all of the measures included in the analysis, the economic performance from 2016 to 2019 (the years preceding the COVID-19 recession) was the weakest.

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Lessons for Fiscal Reform from the Klein Era

Lessons for Fiscal Reform from the Klein Era finds that today's Alberta government can learn some key lessons from the Klein reforms of the 1990s, which helped quickly eliminate the province's budget deficit and lay the foundation for more than a decade of surpluses.

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Increasing Productivity Through Tax Reform

Increasing Productivity Through Tax Reform argues that if governments across Canada want to help increase productivity—and the possibility of a four-day work week—they should lower tax rates on business, capital gains and personal income.

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The Growing Debt Burden for Canadians: 2021 Edition

The Growing Debt Burden for Canadians: 2021 Edition is a new study that finds combined federal and provincial government debt in Canada has doubled from $1.0 trillion in 2007/08 to a projected $2.0 trillion this year. And the combined debt now equals 91.6 per cent of the Canadian economy—up from 65.2 per cent last year.

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Fraser Institute ranked 14th best think tank in the world; recognized as an international Centre of Excellence

The Fraser Institute has ranked 14th best think tank worldwide out of more than 11,000 organizations, according to the University of Pennsylvania’s annual Global Go To Think Tank Index that was released last week. the Institute was also named a Centre of Excellence in the 2020 report, placing it among an elite group of institutions that are recognized for their sustained commitment to quality and excellence in public policy research.

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Fiscal Federalism and the Dependency of Atlantic Canada

Fiscal Federalism and the Dependency of Atlantic Canada is a new study that examines Atlantic Canada’s dependency on fiscal transfers from Ottawa, and highlights how the region is vulnerable to any significant changes in fiscal federalism. The study finds that from 2007 to 2019, federal spending (including Employment Insurance, equalization, health care, and various other subsidies and programs) in Atlantic Canada equaled more than a quarter—27.5 per cent—of the region’s economy

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Promise and Performance: Recent Trends in Government Expenditures on Indigenous Peoples

Promise and Performance: Recent Trends in Government Expenditures on Indigenous Peoples finds that, according to federal budget projections, from fiscal year 2015-16 to 2021-22, federal spending on Indigenous programs will increase by 50 per cent—from $11 billion to more than $17 billion—despite evidence that more money won’t solve the chronic problems in First Nations communities.

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