Each spring, Canada's federal, provincial and territorial legislatures vote budgets that set out their spending and revenue goals for the fiscal year. Budget votes are critical for holding governments accountable to legislators, and in turn to voters and taxpayers. Over the last decade, however,...

Beyond its damage to Canadians’ health and their economy, COVID-19 strained public finances, and both highlighted and exacerbated gaps in governments’ accountability to legislators and voters.Spending by all senior governments jumped in the 2020/21 fiscal year – up 7 percent on average...

Early 2020 presents Canada with two challenges: amenic economic growth, and nervousness about the federal government's fiscal stewardship. The C.D. Howe Institute's Shadow Federal Budget for 2020 addresses both. It contains a number of measures to improve the rewards from work, saving and...

The C.D. Howe Institute's Shadow Federal Budget for 2019 looks past the overspending and deficits the federal government has adopted as its fiscal signature since its election in 2015. Instead, our focus is on ensuring the competitiveness and dynamism of the Canadian economy in the near and...

The 2016 edition of the C.D. Howe Institute's annual Shadow Federal Budget puts a sustainable financial position and fiscal path at the centre of its plans. Confidence that the country will successfully navigate an environment of slower global growth and population aging is an essential backdrop...