C.D. Howe Institute fellow-in-residence Don Drummond says the economic forecast in the Liberal budget effectively says to ‘don’t worry, be happy’ despite the impacts of a U.S. trade war, suggesting a rebound in growth and employment in just a couple of years. Drummond argues that the measures in the budget fall short of the Liberals’ […]
From: Colin Busby, Don Drummond and Alexandre LaurinTo: Budget watchers Date: November 12, 2025Re: Rosy Forecasts and Weak Fiscal Anchors in This ‘Generational’ Budget Ottawa’s budget lands at a pivotal moment. As a Globe and Mail editorial put it, we have reached a fork in the road. The test for this budget was whether it would […]
From: Don Drummond and Nick DahirTo: : Federal spending observers Date: November 11, 2025Re: Is Spending Restrained or Bloated in the 2025 Federal Budget? In its new budget plan the federal government makes the case spending is restrained by emphasizing how much is being saved. “The Comprehensive Expenditure Review will rein in government spending – […]
The trajectory of spending projections in each successive federal Fall Economic Statement (FES) since 2022 tells a story of fiscal drift. The 2022 FES put total spending for 2025/26 – the fiscal year we are now in – at $515.3 billion. Now, according to Budget 2025, the government projects spending $585.8 billion. In just three […]
From: Tingting ZhangTo: Healthcare observersDate: November 6, 2025Re: Federal Health Funding: Promises and Performance Gaps In Budget 2023, the federal government committed an additional $25 billion over 10 years to fix Canada’s ailing healthcare system, with improved family health services as the first of four shared health priorities. This investment came with strings attached: Bilateral […]
Canada does not have a credible fiscal plan. After Ottawa revealed the details of its “sea change” budget, the Institute’s Bill Robson explains why Mark Carney’s first budget in the age of Trump fails to get a passing grade.
Canada does not have a credible fiscal plan. After Ottawa revealed the details of its “sea change” budget, the Institute’s Bill Robson explains why Mark Carney’s first budget in the age of Trump fails to get a passing grade.
Published in The Hub. Slogging through the 493 pages of the federal government’s November 4th, 2025, budget reveals the pre-release hype about transformational change to have been just that: hype. Start with the bloated page count. Like its predecessors, the budget buries the key numbers in hundreds of pages of repetition, reannouncements, and condescending political […]
Published in The Globe and Mail. Ottawa’s budget lands at a pivotal moment. As Sunday’s Globe and Mail editorial put it, we have reached a fork in the road. The test for this budget was whether it would level with Canadians about the scale of the economic problems and chart a credible path forward. By that […]
From: John LesterTo: Canadians Concerned About Federal SpendingDate: November 5, 2025Re: Curing Canada’s Innovation Ills Canada faces a persistent productivity challenge that directly affects our national prosperity. At its core lies weak investment in machinery and equipment, and lacklustre innovation. I propose a set of targeted reforms aimed at fixing Canada’s innovation ills. Strengthening intellectual […]
November 3, 2025 – For some parents and seniors, taking a second income, working more or drawing extra pension income can mean losing most of every extra dollar of income to taxes and benefit clawbacks. This can significantly weaken incentives to work or save, according to a C.D. Howe Institute report. In “The Clawback Trap: […]
The Clawback Trap: How Canada’s Benefit System Can Undermine Work and Saving by Alexandre Laurin and Nicholas Dahir Clawbacks of government benefits can create high marginal effective tax rates (METRs) on extra income, or high participation tax rates (PTRs) on prospective income from taking on a job, that have a negative impact on work incentives […]
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C.D. Howe Institute fellow-in-residence Don Drummond says the economic forecast in the Liberal budget effectively says to ‘don’t worry, be happy’ despite the impacts of a U.S. trade war, suggesting a rebound in growth and employment in just a couple of years. Drummond argues that the measures in the budget fall short of the Liberals’ […] 
From: Colin Busby, Don Drummond and Alexandre LaurinTo: Budget watchers Date: November 12, 2025Re: Rosy Forecasts and Weak Fiscal Anchors in This ‘Generational’ Budget Ottawa’s budget lands at a pivotal moment. As a Globe and Mail editorial put it, we have reached a fork in the road. The test for this budget was whether it would […] 
From: Don Drummond and Nick DahirTo: : Federal spending observers Date: November 11, 2025Re: Is Spending Restrained or Bloated in the 2025 Federal Budget? In its new budget plan the federal government makes the case spending is restrained by emphasizing how much is being saved. “The Comprehensive Expenditure Review will rein in government spending – […] 
The trajectory of spending projections in each successive federal Fall Economic Statement (FES) since 2022 tells a story of fiscal drift. The 2022 FES put total spending for 2025/26 – the fiscal year we are now in – at $515.3 billion. Now, according to Budget 2025, the government projects spending $585.8 billion. In just three […] 
From: Tingting ZhangTo: Healthcare observersDate: November 6, 2025Re: Federal Health Funding: Promises and Performance Gaps In Budget 2023, the federal government committed an additional $25 billion over 10 years to fix Canada’s ailing healthcare system, with improved family health services as the first of four shared health priorities. This investment came with strings attached: Bilateral […] 
Canada does not have a credible fiscal plan. After Ottawa revealed the details of its “sea change” budget, the Institute’s Bill Robson explains why Mark Carney’s first budget in the age of Trump fails to get a passing grade. 
Published in The Hub. Slogging through the 493 pages of the federal government’s November 4th, 2025, budget reveals the pre-release hype about transformational change to have been just that: hype. Start with the bloated page count. Like its predecessors, the budget buries the key numbers in hundreds of pages of repetition, reannouncements, and condescending political […] 
Published in The Globe and Mail. Ottawa’s budget lands at a pivotal moment. As Sunday’s Globe and Mail editorial put it, we have reached a fork in the road. The test for this budget was whether it would level with Canadians about the scale of the economic problems and chart a credible path forward. By that […] 
From: John LesterTo: Canadians Concerned About Federal SpendingDate: November 5, 2025Re: Curing Canada’s Innovation Ills Canada faces a persistent productivity challenge that directly affects our national prosperity. At its core lies weak investment in machinery and equipment, and lacklustre innovation. I propose a set of targeted reforms aimed at fixing Canada’s innovation ills. Strengthening intellectual […] 
November 3, 2025 – For some parents and seniors, taking a second income, working more or drawing extra pension income can mean losing most of every extra dollar of income to taxes and benefit clawbacks. This can significantly weaken incentives to work or save, according to a C.D. Howe Institute report. In “The Clawback Trap: […]