Published in The Hill Times. Prime Minister Mark Carney’s 60-day review of the federal zero-emission vehicle mandate, and the waiver of its 20-per-cent sales requirement for next year, has sparked plenty of debate. But what does hitting the brakes really mean for Canadians? It’s a chance to reflect and to ask whether the mandate, as […]
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 […]
From: Brigid Waddingham and Eugene LangTo: Federal public service observersDate: November 13, 2025Re: Budget 2025 and the worsening public service executive to rank and file ratio “As the size of the public service adjusts, so too, must the leadership” declares Budget 2025, pledging to cut 1,000 executive positions within two years. This accompanies a commitment […]
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 […]
October 23, 2025 – Canada’s federal, provincial and territorial governments should be more transparent about how they tax and spend, says a new report card from the C.D. Howe Institute. The report reveals big contrasts across the country. Alberta topped the class with an A+ for budgets, estimates and public accounts that were timely, accessible […]
• Canadians and elected representatives wanting to know how their federal, provincial and territorial governments tax and spend, and how their capacity to deliver services is changing, face too many obstacles. As grades ranging from A+ to D- in this report card reveal, some governments provide useful and timely information, but too many present information […]
From: Janice MacKinnonTo: Government spending observersDate: October 21, 2025Re: Governments Need to Create Winning Conditions, and Not Pick Winners A version of this Memo first appeared in the Financial Post. I was Saskatchewan’s finance minister during the fiscal crisis of the 1990s, which we successfully weathered. I think the current debate about the sustainability of […]
From: Colin BusbyTo: Canada’s economic policymakersDate: October 15, 2025Re: Peter Howitt’s Economic Policy Contributions at the C.D. Howe Institute As both a Fellow-in-Residence and International Fellow at the C.D. Howe Institute, Peter Howitt’s thoughtful expression of economic theory for a policymaking audience influenced the thinking of Institute economists long before he won his Nobel prize […]
Government consumption – exhaustive spending on employees and other inputs – competes most directly with the private sector for resources. When the economy is weak, as in the early 1990s, after the 2008 financial crisis, after the 2014 oil price collapse and during the COVID pandemic, it is natural for government consumption to rise as […]
From: Don Drummond, Alexandre Laurin and William B. P. Robson To: Watchers of federal red inkDate: October 7, 2025Re: Beware the False Comfort in PBO Deficit Projections The Parliamentary Budget Office is projecting a federal deficit of $68.5 billion this fiscal year, with a four-year cumulative total through 2028-29 of $254.9 billion. That would leave Canada’s net […]
From: Les VinerTo: Postal observersDate: October 6, 2025Re: Postal Transformation is a Litmus Test for Ottawa Last month, the federal government ordered Canada Post to develop a transformation plan to put itself on a financially sustainable footing. It gave the Crown corporation a green light to trim and modernize its network, end most door-to-door delivery, expand […]
From: Brad Gilmour and Sander DuncansonTo: Major project watchersDate: October 3, 2025Re: Bill C-5 – Pros, Cons, and Options for Domestic Investors Pessimism about the ability to advance Canadian projects has made infrastructure investors wary. Lack of confidence has grown from necessary yet increasingly uncertain and complicated environmental and regulatory approval processes, with multiple layers […]
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Published in The Hill Times. Prime Minister Mark Carney’s 60-day review of the federal zero-emission vehicle mandate, and the waiver of its 20-per-cent sales requirement for next year, has sparked plenty of debate. But what does hitting the brakes really mean for Canadians? It’s a chance to reflect and to ask whether the mandate, as […] 
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 […] 
From: Brigid Waddingham and Eugene LangTo: Federal public service observersDate: November 13, 2025Re: Budget 2025 and the worsening public service executive to rank and file ratio “As the size of the public service adjusts, so too, must the leadership” declares Budget 2025, pledging to cut 1,000 executive positions within two years. This accompanies a commitment […] 
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 […] 
• Canadians and elected representatives wanting to know how their federal, provincial and territorial governments tax and spend, and how their capacity to deliver services is changing, face too many obstacles. As grades ranging from A+ to D- in this report card reveal, some governments provide useful and timely information, but too many present information […] 
From: Janice MacKinnonTo: Government spending observersDate: October 21, 2025Re: Governments Need to Create Winning Conditions, and Not Pick Winners A version of this Memo first appeared in the Financial Post. I was Saskatchewan’s finance minister during the fiscal crisis of the 1990s, which we successfully weathered. I think the current debate about the sustainability of […] 
From: Colin BusbyTo: Canada’s economic policymakersDate: October 15, 2025Re: Peter Howitt’s Economic Policy Contributions at the C.D. Howe Institute As both a Fellow-in-Residence and International Fellow at the C.D. Howe Institute, Peter Howitt’s thoughtful expression of economic theory for a policymaking audience influenced the thinking of Institute economists long before he won his Nobel prize […] 
Government consumption – exhaustive spending on employees and other inputs – competes most directly with the private sector for resources. When the economy is weak, as in the early 1990s, after the 2008 financial crisis, after the 2014 oil price collapse and during the COVID pandemic, it is natural for government consumption to rise as […] 
From: Don Drummond, Alexandre Laurin and William B. P. Robson To: Watchers of federal red inkDate: October 7, 2025Re: Beware the False Comfort in PBO Deficit Projections The Parliamentary Budget Office is projecting a federal deficit of $68.5 billion this fiscal year, with a four-year cumulative total through 2028-29 of $254.9 billion. That would leave Canada’s net […] 
From: Les VinerTo: Postal observersDate: October 6, 2025Re: Postal Transformation is a Litmus Test for Ottawa Last month, the federal government ordered Canada Post to develop a transformation plan to put itself on a financially sustainable footing. It gave the Crown corporation a green light to trim and modernize its network, end most door-to-door delivery, expand […] 
From: Brad Gilmour and Sander DuncansonTo: Major project watchersDate: October 3, 2025Re: Bill C-5 – Pros, Cons, and Options for Domestic Investors Pessimism about the ability to advance Canadian projects has made infrastructure investors wary. Lack of confidence has grown from necessary yet increasingly uncertain and complicated environmental and regulatory approval processes, with multiple layers […]