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:Â 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 […]
From: Lennie KaplanTo: Climate policy watchersDate: September 30, 2025Re: Restoring Credibility to Canada’s Climate Change Policies and Targets There are three things to watch for this fall as the federal government reviews and renews its climate change policies and targets. Under the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act, Environment and Climate Change Canada must prepare a […]
From: Michael WernickTo: Public service observersDate: September 16, 2025Re: Public Service Cuts Coming: Here’s How to Do It Well As Parliament rolls into it its new session, it is increasingly clear that the next couple of federal budgets are going to bring about a sharp bending of the curve regarding the size of the federal government’s workforce. […]
The fall sitting of the House of Commons begins today, and it’s an uphill battle for Canada’s novice politician turned Prime Minister. Veteran political affairs reporter Paul Wells joins the C.D. Howe Institute’s Colin Busby to discuss what Parliament Hill’s policy priorities should be.
The fall sitting of the House of Commons begins today, and it’s an uphill battle for Canada’s novice politician turned Prime Minister. Veteran political affairs reporter Paul Wells joins the C.D. Howe Institute’s Colin Busby to discuss what Parliament Hill’s policy priorities should be. Â
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• 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:Â 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 […] 
From: Lennie KaplanTo: Climate policy watchersDate: September 30, 2025Re: Restoring Credibility to Canada’s Climate Change Policies and Targets There are three things to watch for this fall as the federal government reviews and renews its climate change policies and targets. Under the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act, Environment and Climate Change Canada must prepare a […] 
From: Michael WernickTo: Public service observersDate: September 16, 2025Re: Public Service Cuts Coming: Here’s How to Do It Well As Parliament rolls into it its new session, it is increasingly clear that the next couple of federal budgets are going to bring about a sharp bending of the curve regarding the size of the federal government’s workforce. […] 
The fall sitting of the House of Commons begins today, and it’s an uphill battle for Canada’s novice politician turned Prime Minister. Veteran political affairs reporter Paul Wells joins the C.D. Howe Institute’s Colin Busby to discuss what Parliament Hill’s policy priorities should be.