May 27, 2025 – A recent federal directive aiming to expand the scope of the Canada Health Act (CHA) could spark legal tensions and shift costs to Canada’s provinces – all while leaving major drivers of two-tier healthcare untouched, according to a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Reinterpreting the Canada Health Act: The 2025 […]
Published in Financial Post. In the furore around the on-again, off-again Trump tariffs, it sometimes gets lost that the international trade of goods has implications for international financial transactions and therefore for exchange rates, too. In general, a weaker currency makes a country’s imports more expensive and its exports cheaper. The U.S. dollar is down […]
Between 2010 and 2023, Canada’s tax revenue as a share of GDP rose by nearly four percentage points – outpacing the average increase among 38 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries and exceeding that of every G7 country except Japan, a notable outlier. With several senior governments – Ottawa, Quebec, Ontario, and British […]
This piece was published in The Globe and Mail. There were three economic issues we suggested last week in these pages that Canadians should ask going into the April 28 election: addressing the country’s decades-long economic decline, increasing our resilience in the face of U.S. trade aggression, and making federal fiscal policy more sustainable and generationally fair. […]
To: Interest rate watchersFrom: Jeremy M. Kronick and Steve AmblerDate: April 23, 2025Re: The “Great Advantage to Doing Nothing” on Interest Rates After seven straight cuts, the Bank of Canada hit pause last week and held its policy interest rate at 2.75 percent. We have argued over the last few months that the Bank needed to cut the overnight rate […]
This piece was published in The Hub. Elections, we would hope, are a time to grapple with the biggest issues facing the country. As each leader makes their pitch in the final week of the campaign, Canadians should be focused on how they address one particularly daunting challenge: Canada has an acute productivity problem—and since […]
This piece was published in the Globe and Mail. The 2025 federal election campaign is two-thirds done. The new government will need to reverse Canada’s decade-long economic decline, respond to U.S. President Donald Trump’s economic aggression and contain growth of federal debt. How will the leading contenders to form a government address these challenges? Canadians […]
From: Alexandre Laurin and Nick Dahir To: Campaign promise observers Date: April 15, 2025Re: Missing Detail II: Little Boost to Economic Activity Likely from Proposed Tax Changes Yesterday, we assessed the average tax savings from the Liberal and Conservative campaign promises to reduce taxes. We found that the Liberal proposal – reducing the lowest rate from […]
April 15, 2025 – Many of Canada’s biggest cities struggle with the basics of financial transparency, says a new report card from the C.D. Howe Institute. The annual Institute report grades the fiscal transparency and accountability of 32 major municipalities. This year, four earned top marks, while four flunked outright. In “Could Do Better: Grading […]
Could Do Better: Grading the Fiscal Accountability of Canada’s Municipalities, 2024 The budgets municipal governments present around the beginning of their fiscal years and the audited financial statements they publish after fiscal year-end are crucial for decision-making and accountability. A review of the budgets and audited financial statements of 32 major Canadian municipalities reveals a […]
From: Alexandre Laurin and Nick Dahir To: Campaign promise observers Date: April 14, 2025Re: Missing Detail: Tax Savings Lower than Advertised Both Liberals and Conservatives have pledged to lower the bottom marginal federal personal income tax (PIT) rate if elected. The Liberals propose reducing the rate from 15 percent to 14 percent, while the Conservatives aim to […]
To: Canada’s trade warriors From: William B.P. RobsonDate: April 7, 2025Re:  Next Up: A Fight with Trump Over the GST The “reciprocal” tariff rates announced by Donald Trump on last week were worse than expected – not only because they were high, but because the calculations behind them were absurd. The idea that a country’s trade balance with the […]
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Published in Financial Post. In the furore around the on-again, off-again Trump tariffs, it sometimes gets lost that the international trade of goods has implications for international financial transactions and therefore for exchange rates, too. In general, a weaker currency makes a country’s imports more expensive and its exports cheaper. The U.S. dollar is down […] 
Between 2010 and 2023, Canada’s tax revenue as a share of GDP rose by nearly four percentage points – outpacing the average increase among 38 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries and exceeding that of every G7 country except Japan, a notable outlier. With several senior governments – Ottawa, Quebec, Ontario, and British […] 
This piece was published in The Globe and Mail. There were three economic issues we suggested last week in these pages that Canadians should ask going into the April 28 election: addressing the country’s decades-long economic decline, increasing our resilience in the face of U.S. trade aggression, and making federal fiscal policy more sustainable and generationally fair. […] 
To: Interest rate watchersFrom: Jeremy M. Kronick and Steve AmblerDate: April 23, 2025Re: The “Great Advantage to Doing Nothing” on Interest Rates After seven straight cuts, the Bank of Canada hit pause last week and held its policy interest rate at 2.75 percent. We have argued over the last few months that the Bank needed to cut the overnight rate […] 
This piece was published in The Hub. Elections, we would hope, are a time to grapple with the biggest issues facing the country. As each leader makes their pitch in the final week of the campaign, Canadians should be focused on how they address one particularly daunting challenge: Canada has an acute productivity problem—and since […] 
This piece was published in the Globe and Mail. The 2025 federal election campaign is two-thirds done. The new government will need to reverse Canada’s decade-long economic decline, respond to U.S. President Donald Trump’s economic aggression and contain growth of federal debt. How will the leading contenders to form a government address these challenges? Canadians […] 
From: Alexandre Laurin and Nick Dahir To: Campaign promise observers Date: April 15, 2025Re: Missing Detail II: Little Boost to Economic Activity Likely from Proposed Tax Changes Yesterday, we assessed the average tax savings from the Liberal and Conservative campaign promises to reduce taxes. We found that the Liberal proposal – reducing the lowest rate from […] 
Could Do Better: Grading the Fiscal Accountability of Canada’s Municipalities, 2024 The budgets municipal governments present around the beginning of their fiscal years and the audited financial statements they publish after fiscal year-end are crucial for decision-making and accountability. A review of the budgets and audited financial statements of 32 major Canadian municipalities reveals a […] 
From: Alexandre Laurin and Nick Dahir To: Campaign promise observers Date: April 14, 2025Re: Missing Detail: Tax Savings Lower than Advertised Both Liberals and Conservatives have pledged to lower the bottom marginal federal personal income tax (PIT) rate if elected. The Liberals propose reducing the rate from 15 percent to 14 percent, while the Conservatives aim to […] 
To: Canada’s trade warriors From: William B.P. RobsonDate: April 7, 2025Re:  Next Up: A Fight with Trump Over the GST The “reciprocal” tariff rates announced by Donald Trump on last week were worse than expected – not only because they were high, but because the calculations behind them were absurd. The idea that a country’s trade balance with the […]