From: John Lester and Alexandre LaurinTo: Canada’s budget observersDate: July 15, 2025Re: Ottawa’s Cost-Cutting Axe Needs to Swing More Widely The federal government has promised a spending review aimed at limiting the growth in its operating spending, also known as direct program expenses, to two per cent a year. With the new NATO commitment to increase defence-related spending by […]
Between 2010 and 2023, the reliance of Canada’s federal, provincial, and local governments on income taxes – measured as a share of GDP – increased by nearly 25 percent. In contrast, reliance on consumption and property taxes remained largely unchanged over the same period. As outlined in the Institute’s Shadow Budget, any future tax increases, […]
The Fiscal Update the Government Should Have Produced and the Budget Canada Needs by William B.P. Robson, Don Drummond and Alexandre Laurin Introduction: No Budget, No Plan The federal government has said it will not release a budget until the fall. Delaying a budget until the fiscal year is more than half over is never […]
July 3, 2025 – With no federal budget in sight until the fall, and many recent expensive fiscal initiatives, including a massive increase in defence spending, Canadians are left without a clear picture of the country’s fiscal trajectory, according to a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “The Fiscal Update the Government Should […]
From: Michael WernickTo: Defence spending watchers Date: July 3, 2025Re: How About a Dedicated National Security Tax for Canada? Over the past year, a chorus has risen calling for an increase in defence spending. Canada has been pressed to show it is putting enough effort into protecting and policing its own land, sea and air borders while also […]
From: Benjamin Dachis and Daniel LangTo: The Hon. François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Finance and National Revenue and The Hon. Tim Hodgson, Minister of Energy and Natural ResourcesDate: June 26, 2025Re: Tax Changes Needed to Unlock Private Capital for Ontario’s Electricity Grid Canada’s net-zero targets demand massive electricity distribution infrastructure investment. Ontario’s municipal financing structure – […]
From: Alexandre Laurin and Nick Dahir To: Tax observersDate: June 16, 2025Re: A Six-Point Productivity Focused Tax Reform Plan Strengthening the foundations for growth should be a top policy priority amid global trade disruptions. No single measure will fix Canada’s economic underperformance, but swift, practical tax reform could make a real difference. We propose a bold […]
Clearing the Air: The Taxation and Regulation of Reduced-Harm Nicotine Products • Taxes on combustible cigarettes in Canada account for almost 70 percent of their final price. Under the most recent excise tax impositions, some low-risk products carry a combined excise and sales tax imposition that also forms a high percentage of the price paid […]
Published in the Financial Post An annual Canadian ritual starting just after New Year’s is the panic over municipal budgets. Concerns about deficits and consequent spending cuts and tax increases dominate the headlines — “Torontonians face property tax hike!” “Vancouver overspending on policing!” “Montreal to limit hiring!” “Calgary faced with tough choices!” Then everything goes quiet. But ratepayers, users of services and elected […]
Your high school teacher would fail you for it. So why are Canada’s biggest cities getting away with fudging their fiscal homework? The C.D. Howe Institute’s Bill Robson and Nick Dahir hand out grades that have them writing the scathing “could do better” criticism which no student wants to read.
Your high school teacher would fail you for it. So why are Canada’s biggest cities getting away with fudging their fiscal homework? The C.D. Howe Institute’s Bill Robson and Nick Dahir hand out grades that have them writing the scathing “could do better” criticism which no student wants to read.
Canadians are facing stagnant living standards and external threats – and we can’t keep going down the same road. It’s elbows up for our economy, and our roadmap can help move Canada in a new direction. An Economic Strategy for Canada’s Next Government The centrepiece of our economic strategy is improving Canada’s dismal productivity performance […]
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From: John Lester and Alexandre LaurinTo: Canada’s budget observersDate: July 15, 2025Re: Ottawa’s Cost-Cutting Axe Needs to Swing More Widely The federal government has promised a spending review aimed at limiting the growth in its operating spending, also known as direct program expenses, to two per cent a year. With the new NATO commitment to increase defence-related spending by […] 
Between 2010 and 2023, the reliance of Canada’s federal, provincial, and local governments on income taxes – measured as a share of GDP – increased by nearly 25 percent. In contrast, reliance on consumption and property taxes remained largely unchanged over the same period. As outlined in the Institute’s Shadow Budget, any future tax increases, […] 
The Fiscal Update the Government Should Have Produced and the Budget Canada Needs by William B.P. Robson, Don Drummond and Alexandre Laurin Introduction: No Budget, No Plan The federal government has said it will not release a budget until the fall. Delaying a budget until the fiscal year is more than half over is never […] 
From: Michael WernickTo: Defence spending watchers Date: July 3, 2025Re: How About a Dedicated National Security Tax for Canada? Over the past year, a chorus has risen calling for an increase in defence spending. Canada has been pressed to show it is putting enough effort into protecting and policing its own land, sea and air borders while also […] 
From: Benjamin Dachis and Daniel LangTo: The Hon. François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Finance and National Revenue and The Hon. Tim Hodgson, Minister of Energy and Natural ResourcesDate: June 26, 2025Re: Tax Changes Needed to Unlock Private Capital for Ontario’s Electricity Grid Canada’s net-zero targets demand massive electricity distribution infrastructure investment. Ontario’s municipal financing structure – […] 
Clearing the Air: The Taxation and Regulation of Reduced-Harm Nicotine Products • Taxes on combustible cigarettes in Canada account for almost 70 percent of their final price. Under the most recent excise tax impositions, some low-risk products carry a combined excise and sales tax imposition that also forms a high percentage of the price paid […] 
Published in the Financial Post An annual Canadian ritual starting just after New Year’s is the panic over municipal budgets. Concerns about deficits and consequent spending cuts and tax increases dominate the headlines — “Torontonians face property tax hike!” “Vancouver overspending on policing!” “Montreal to limit hiring!” “Calgary faced with tough choices!” Then everything goes quiet. But ratepayers, users of services and elected […] 
Your high school teacher would fail you for it. So why are Canada’s biggest cities getting away with fudging their fiscal homework? The C.D. Howe Institute’s Bill Robson and Nick Dahir hand out grades that have them writing the scathing “could do better” criticism which no student wants to read. 
Canadians are facing stagnant living standards and external threats – and we can’t keep going down the same road. It’s elbows up for our economy, and our roadmap can help move Canada in a new direction. An Economic Strategy for Canada’s Next Government The centrepiece of our economic strategy is improving Canada’s dismal productivity performance […]