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FRASER UPDATE
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Latest Research Jan 13-19, 2020
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Canada’s combined federal-provincial debt will reach $1.5 trillion in 2019/20, Ontario debt highest among provinces
The Growing Debt Burden for Canadians finds that, since 2007/08, the year before the last recession, combined federal and provincial debt has grown from $837.0 billion to a projected $1.5 trillion in 2019/20. The study also breakdowns provincial debt burdens based on several different measures.
Read More ([link removed])

Infrastructure spending not an effective tool for fighting recession
Fiscal Policy and Recessions: The Role of Public Infrastructure Spending finds that infrastructure spending is not an effective policy for stimulating the economy during a recession because major infrastructure projects have very long timelines, and the recession will be over by the time shovels hit the ground. There is also evidence from the United States and Canada that increased federal spending on infrastructure merely replaces spending from lower levels of government, meaning the level of overall government spending remains the same.
Read More ([link removed])

Recent Commentary and Blog Posts
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Federal spending reaches highest level in Canadian history ([link removed])
(Appeared in the Financial Post) by Tegan Hill and Jake Fuss.
The Trudeau government's per-person spending is expected to reach $9,066.

Ford government’s upcoming second budget should include real fiscal reform ([link removed])
(Appeared in the Toronto Sun) by Ben Eisen.
Ontario's top marginal personal income tax rate of 53.53 per cent is the second-highest in North America.

Kenney government should reform health care to shorten wait times and save money ([link removed])
(Appeared in the Calgary Sun) by Ben Eisen and Mackenzie Moir.
In 2019, Alberta spent significantly more per person on health care than any other large province.

Congressional voting on USMCA underscores influence of interest groups ([link removed])
by Steven Globerman. 
Recent study found that legislator votes coincided with the positions of their constituents only 65 per cent of the time.

Land-use regulation in “superstar” U.S. cities—same old sad story ([link removed])
by Josef Filipowicz.
The typical number of approval bodies with veto power over rezoning increased in many cities.

Consumers—not voters—will ultimately drive climate policy ([link removed])
(Appeared in the Calgary Sun) by Robert P. Murphy. 
A Calgary-based oilsands producer plans to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

The Fraser Institute is an independent Canadian public policy research and educational organization with offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal and ties to a global network of think-tanks in 87 countries. Its mission is to improve the quality of life for Canadians, their families and future generations by studying, measuring and broadly communicating the effects of government policies, entrepreneurship and choice on their well-being. To protect the Institute's independence, it does not accept grants from governments or contracts for research. For more, call (800) 665-3558 ext. 590.

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