Tag Archives: deficit
Addressing Ontario’s Fiscal Challenges
While 2017-18 saw a surplus of $642 million after years of deficits, the 2018-19 Ontario budget now projects a deficit of $6.7 billion and a net provincial debt of $325 billion with deficits projected to continue for five years afterwards. If one considers the recent report of the Auditor-General, then Ontario’s deficit may be even […]
The Federal Deficit: A Long Term View
In honour of the 2015 Federal Budget and the balancing of the budget, why not a retrospective on Canadian federal government deficits since 1867. In the period from 1867 to 2014, the Federal government has run a deficit in 108 out of 148 years or 73 percent of the time. In nominal terms, the federal […]
Fiscal Ships
“We're two ships that pass in the night, And we smile when we say it's alright We're still here, It's just that we're out of sight Like those ships that pass in the night” Barry Manilow Next week is a double-header of sorts for economists interested in Canadian public finance – a Federal budget on […]
When Tax Opportunity Knocks…
It looks like the respite from falling oil prices for consumers at the pump has finally attracted the attention of government. Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne has been reported as saying Ontario will unveil a carbon-pricing scheme this spring. While the idea of a carbon tax in Ontario has been on the agenda since at least […]
US Budget 2015: Some Quick Thoughts
The Budget of the U.S. Government for the 2015 fiscal year was presented at the White House today and unlike Canada, we are not looking at a balanced budget by 2015. Indeed, the forecast is for a small decline in the deficit but the rest of the decade looks like deficits all the way down. […]
Visioning the Surplus
The Federal government is poised to move into a period of fiscal surplus. According to the 2014 Federal Budget, the 2014-15 fiscal year will see a 2.9 billion dollar deficit (which could actually be a small surplus due to the 3 billion dollar contingency fund). After that, 2015-16 will see a 6.4 billion dollar surplus […]
The Incredible Shrinking Federal Government
The Federal government will be releasing their fall economic update today and so this is as good a time as any to review Canadian federal government finances. Contrary to my earlier expectations, I guess the Federal government may indeed be about to balance its budget by 2015/16 judging by early press reports regarding today’s Federal […]
Why Ontario Will Not Be Balancing the Budget Anytime Soon
Ontario released its fall economic statement this week and the government insists that it will be balancing the budget by 2017-18. From an actual deficit of 9.2 billion dollars for 2012-13, it is anticipated that the deficit will be 11.7 billion dollars in 2013-14 and will go down to 3.5 billion dollars by 2016-17. Yet, […]
Why Dalton Left
Its no coincidence that on the same day as the Ontario Fall Economic Statement was released, Dalton McGuinty suddenly announced his resignation as Premier of Ontario. After the political acrimony and angst of dealing with teachers, doctors, civil servants and the opposition in a minority government situation, the outlook for Ontario’s 2012-13 deficit is 14.4 […]
Forecasting Deficits Ontario Style
One of my most piercing electoral memories is the 1993 federal election debate that featured then Prime Minister Kim Campbell, Jean Chretien, Audrey McLaughlin, Preston Manning and Lucien Bouchard. The part that always sticks in my mind is Lucien Bouchard’s persistent questioning of Campbell with respect to the size of the deficit in the 1993 […]
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