Comparing the combined national and sub-national corporate income tax (CIT) rates in Canada, the United States, and the GDP-weighted OECD averages shows that Canada had a significant CIT advantage between 2012 and 2018, driven by lowering the combined federal-provincial corporate income tax rate. That edge vanished in 2018 when corporate rate cuts under the […]
From: Sahar Hamdam To: Federal Policymakers and Tax Policy Analysts Date: February 27, 2026Re: Targeted GST Reform is More Effective Than Broad Elimination on Essentials Canadians are facing sustained increases in the cost of groceries, household goods, and hygiene products. In response, the federal government has expanded and renamed GST Credit as a central pillar […]
From: Lennie KaplanTo: Alberta budget observers Date: February 20, 2026Re: How Will Alberta Deal With Low Oil Prices in Next Week’s Budget? The Alberta government is signaling that its 2026 budget next week is going “stay the course” with a large deficit number in 2026/27, and likely into 2027/28. One of the critical factors influencing the […]
To: Canadians concerned about the federal government’s “investment” hypeFrom: William B.P. Robson and Mawakina Bafale Re: Debt-Fuelled Consumption Belies Ottawa’s Brave Talk of Transformation Even as the gap widens between feeble capital investment in Canada and surging investment in the United States, so does the gap between the Carney government’s hype about investing for prosperity […]
Published in Financial Post. Even as the gap widens between feeble capital investment in Canada and surging investment in the United States, so does the gap between the Carney government’s hype about investing for prosperity and its actual pursuit of debt-fuelled consumption. Last week, it announced its latest response to affordability concerns: the Canada Groceries […]
To: Finance CanadaFrom: Nick Dahir and Alexandre Laurin Date: February 6, 2026Re: How Retirement Benefit Clawbacks Hit Lower-Income Taxpayers Hardest The taxation of retirement income is a key consideration for pension, tax, and fiscal policy. Drawdowns of tax-deferred retirement savings are taxable. Future government revenues depend on how withdrawals are taxed in retirement, and government spending […]
February 3, 2026 – More than nine million working Canadians lack access to a workplace retirement plan, with the gap most pronounced among employees of small- and mid-sized businesses, according to a new C.D Howe Institute report. As a result, many are left to make inconsistent, often costly, savings decisions that increase the risk of […]
by Keith Ambachtsheer and Alex Mazer Canada ranked 16th out of 52 countries in an authoritative Global Pension Index in 2025, which identified limited coverage of occupational pension plans, particularly in the private sector, as the country’s greatest area for improvement. More than nine million Canadian employees lack access to a workplace retirement plan, largely […]
Countries’ ability to meet their NATO defence spending targets is predicated on the fiscal capacity to do so. The graph shows NATO countries’ 2024 defence spending versus their debt, as a share of GDP, with the horizontal line demarcating the 2025 NATO spending target for core defence spending (2.0 percent, increasing to 3.5 percent for […]
Published in Financial Post. Initial buzz about last month’s supposedly “generational” federal budget marking a decisive break from the growth-suppressing fiscal policies of the recent past has now faded. In retrospect, far too much of the budget was discouragingly familiar: more upward revisions of projected spending and borrowing, narrowly focused tax measures and — in […]
From: John LesterTo: Canadians Concerned About Federal SpendingDate: November 20, 2025Re: More Distance to Travel in Controlling Federal Program Spending There is much to like in the expenditure “cuts” announced in the federal budget. Contrary to my initial concerns, the government did not impose across-the-board reductions to the narrow review base. Departmental proposals were vetted centrally, […]
From: David Jones To: Budget observersDate: November 17, 2025Re: After the Budget: Time for Hard Hats and Signs of Progress Mark Carney’s budget strategy could not be clearer. It’s “build baby build.” It’s a “generational investment.” It’s “invest more and spend less.” Capital investment is the budget’s uncompromising long-term plan. Tuesday’s budget posts a deficit of […]
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Comparing the combined national and sub-national corporate income tax (CIT) rates in Canada, the United States, and the GDP-weighted OECD averages shows that Canada had a significant CIT advantage between 2012 and 2018, driven by lowering the combined federal-provincial corporate income tax rate. That edge vanished in 2018 when corporate rate cuts under the […] 
From: Sahar Hamdam To: Federal Policymakers and Tax Policy Analysts Date: February 27, 2026Re: Targeted GST Reform is More Effective Than Broad Elimination on Essentials Canadians are facing sustained increases in the cost of groceries, household goods, and hygiene products. In response, the federal government has expanded and renamed GST Credit as a central pillar […] 
From: Lennie KaplanTo: Alberta budget observers Date: February 20, 2026Re: How Will Alberta Deal With Low Oil Prices in Next Week’s Budget? The Alberta government is signaling that its 2026 budget next week is going “stay the course” with a large deficit number in 2026/27, and likely into 2027/28. One of the critical factors influencing the […] 
To: Canadians concerned about the federal government’s “investment” hypeFrom: William B.P. Robson and Mawakina Bafale Re: Debt-Fuelled Consumption Belies Ottawa’s Brave Talk of Transformation Even as the gap widens between feeble capital investment in Canada and surging investment in the United States, so does the gap between the Carney government’s hype about investing for prosperity […] 
Published in Financial Post. Even as the gap widens between feeble capital investment in Canada and surging investment in the United States, so does the gap between the Carney government’s hype about investing for prosperity and its actual pursuit of debt-fuelled consumption. Last week, it announced its latest response to affordability concerns: the Canada Groceries […] 
To: Finance CanadaFrom: Nick Dahir and Alexandre Laurin Date: February 6, 2026Re: How Retirement Benefit Clawbacks Hit Lower-Income Taxpayers Hardest The taxation of retirement income is a key consideration for pension, tax, and fiscal policy. Drawdowns of tax-deferred retirement savings are taxable. Future government revenues depend on how withdrawals are taxed in retirement, and government spending […] 
February 3, 2026 – More than nine million working Canadians lack access to a workplace retirement plan, with the gap most pronounced among employees of small- and mid-sized businesses, according to a new C.D Howe Institute report. As a result, many are left to make inconsistent, often costly, savings decisions that increase the risk of […] 
Countries’ ability to meet their NATO defence spending targets is predicated on the fiscal capacity to do so. The graph shows NATO countries’ 2024 defence spending versus their debt, as a share of GDP, with the horizontal line demarcating the 2025 NATO spending target for core defence spending (2.0 percent, increasing to 3.5 percent for […] 
Published in Financial Post. Initial buzz about last month’s supposedly “generational” federal budget marking a decisive break from the growth-suppressing fiscal policies of the recent past has now faded. In retrospect, far too much of the budget was discouragingly familiar: more upward revisions of projected spending and borrowing, narrowly focused tax measures and — in […] 
From: John LesterTo: Canadians Concerned About Federal SpendingDate: November 20, 2025Re: More Distance to Travel in Controlling Federal Program Spending There is much to like in the expenditure “cuts” announced in the federal budget. Contrary to my initial concerns, the government did not impose across-the-board reductions to the narrow review base. Departmental proposals were vetted centrally, […] 
From: David Jones To: Budget observersDate: November 17, 2025Re: After the Budget: Time for Hard Hats and Signs of Progress Mark Carney’s budget strategy could not be clearer. It’s “build baby build.” It’s a “generational investment.” It’s “invest more and spend less.” Capital investment is the budget’s uncompromising long-term plan. Tuesday’s budget posts a deficit of […]