Category: Fraser Institute

Study Warns of Canada’s Slow Economic Growth

A study from the Fraser Institute has found that Canada’s per-person GDP is growing at its lowest rate since the Great Depression of the 1930s. “Canada’s in a full-blown economic growth crisis, which is homegrown and due largely to poor government policy,” said Philip Cross, senior fellow at the Fraser Institute and author of “What…


Canadian Business Investment ‘Significantly’ Lower Compared to US, Fraser Institute Report Finds

The gap between Canadian and U.S. business investment per worker “widened significantly” after 2014, with Canada seeing a $43.7 billion decline in total annual business investment between 2014 and 2021, according to a new report by the Fraser Institute. “Economists have warned of Canada’s weak business investment, particularly compared to the United States. This should…


Canada’s Tax Freedom Day Falls on June 19 This Year: Think Tank

Tax Freedom Day in Canada falls on June 19 this year, according to the Fraser Institute. Tax Freedom Day refers to when Canadians would theoretically start working for themselves if they paid all their taxes to the government up front starting on Jan. 1. “If the average Canadian family had to pay its taxes up…


Caps on Oil and Gas Industry Will Have Little Impact on Global Emissions: Report

A new report is questioning the federal government’s planned cap on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the oil and gas sector. The report, released on June 1 by the Fraser Institute, says the plan will cost the country billions of dollars in lost revenue and have almost no impact on GHG emissions globally. The federal…


Canadian Governments Spent Over $352 Billion in Business Subsidies Over 13-Year Period: Study

A total of $352.1 billion in business subsidies have been paid out by all three levels of government between 2007 and 2019, translating into thousands to tens of thousands of dollars spent by Canadian taxpayers, according to a Fraser Institute study. Tegan Hill and Joel Emes, senior economists at the think tank and co-authors of…


30 Percent Chance of Government Failing Fiscal Goal of Reducing Federal Debt Over Next Decade: Study

With a little over a week before the federal government releases Budget 2023, a stress test of the current fiscal policy shows that Ottawa has a 30 percent chance of failing to achieve its core fiscal goal of reducing federal debt over a 10-year period, says a Fraser Institute study. The study, titled “Stress Testing the…


Combined Federal And Provincial Debt Projected to Exceed $2.1 Trillion This Fiscal Year: Study

Canada’s combined federal and provincial net debt is expected to exceed $2.1 trillion in the 2022-2023 fiscal year, which is nearly double what it was 15 years ago, according to a new report. “Budget deficits and increasing debt have become serious fiscal challenges facing the federal and many provincial governments recently,” said the report authored by Jake…


Top 20% Income-Earning Families Pay Over Half Canada’s Total Taxes: Study

Canada’s top 20 percent of income-earning families pay over half of the country’s total taxes, and over 60 percent of all federal and provincial personal income taxes, according to a Fraser Institute study. Study authors Jake Fuss and Nathaniel Li also found that Canada’s bottom 20 percent of income-earning families pay less than 1 percent of all federal…


Canada’s Climate Policies Lead to Energy Insecurity: Think Tank

Canada’s current climate policies, outlined in a number of federal plans that have been introduced over the past several years, could cause future energy insecurity while increasing oil and gas prices, says a new paper. “Oil and gas are vital to our mutual security and our energy advantages should not be frittered away,” reads the…


Ottawa Shifts Overall Spending on Child Benefits Away From Low-Income Families: Study

The federal government is shifting the share of overall spending on child benefits away from lower-income families to middle- and upper-middle-income families at an even greater degree than previously thought, a Fraser Institute study says. The study looks into the Canada Child Benefit (CCB)—a tax-free payment that was said to target low- and middle-income families—and…