Ontarians are already burdened by a $300 billion provincial net debt that has ballooned over the past decade.
ontario economy
Ontario’s net debt is projected to climb to 40.2 per cent of the provincial economy this year.
While the overall federal transfer “pie” has grown significantly over the past decade, Ontario’s “slice” has also grown larger.
The recent elections in Alberta and federally in Canada have elected governments that appear dedicated to increasing government’s interference in the economy.
Business investment is no longer the driving force of capital formation in Ontario. In its place, investment by the public sector has nearly doubled.
Last week, Standard and Poor’s announced a downgrade to Ontario’s long-term credit rating, pointing to the province’s “very weak budgetary performance.”
Despite the talk of painful austerity, Ontario’s recent budget continues to bleed red ink. Finance Minister Charles Sousa projects a deficit this year of $8.5 billion, and doesn’t predict an actual balancing of the books until 2017-18 fiscal year.
When the federal government faced a growing debt problem in the late 1980s, then Opposition finance critic Paul Martin was initially skeptical about cutting spending.
There was an aura of complacency in Queen’s Park as the Ontario government released its update on the state of provincial finances.