Who was Barbara Mitchell?
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Who Bears the Burden of Property Taxes in Canada’s Largest Metropolitan Areas?

Who Bears the Burden of Property Taxes in Canada’s Largest Metropolitan Areas? analyzes the ratio of municipal and provincial property tax rates (including education) paid by residents, businesses and industries in Canada’s major urban areas. It finds that across the country, but particularly in the cities of Toronto, Montreal, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver, businesses pay much higher property tax rates than residents, which can erode competitiveness and lead to business migration, reduced hiring and investment, and even business closures.

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The Costs of Slow Economic Growth: Collected Essays

The Costs of Slow Economic Growth finds that from 2011 to 2018, Canada experienced an annual economic growth rate of 2.17 per cent. But that an annual rate of 3 per cent would spur an approximately $45,000 increase in Canada’s per-person income after 20 years.

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The Myths of Local Food Policy: Lessons from the economic and social history of the food system finds that despite common misperceptions, locally-grown food isn’t better for the environment, doesn’t provide a more stable food supply and it isn’t necessarily safer to eat. And locally-grown food often increases prices for consumers since the high cost of land in or near big cities means urban agriculture is expensive.

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Comparing Performance of Universal Health Care Countries, 2019

Comparing Performance of Universal Health Care Countries, 2019 finds that despite spending more on health care than most other developed countries with universal coverage, Canada has a relatively short supply of doctors and hospital beds—and the longest wait times.

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Secondary School Class Sizes and Student Performance in Canada

Secondary school class sizes and student performance in Canada, which compares provincial class sizes and test scores from the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), finds that Saskatchewan had the smallest average secondary school class size (22.6 students) among all 10 provinces but the lowest test scores in all three PISA subjects—reading, math and science. And Ontario had the smallest class size (24.8 students) and lowest test scores among the four largest provinces.

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The Power of Comprehensive Policy Reform: Lessons for Ontario from Michigan

The Power of Comprehensive Policy Reform: Lessons for Ontario from Michigan finds that even though both jurisdictions were hard hit during the 2009 recession, Michigan has enjoyed a much more successful recovery in the past 10 years. Crucially, Michigan’s economic success coincides with substantial policy reforms, implemented in 2011, that lowered business taxes, increased worker choice, slowed government spending and reduced state debt.

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Fiscal Policy and Recessions: A Primer on Automatic Stabilizers

Fiscal Policy and Recessions: A Primer on Automatic Stabilizers finds that in 2009, during the last recession, spending on unemployment benefits by the federal employment insurance (EI) program increased automatically by nearly $5 billion—or 43.4 per cent—as unemployment increased.

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