Pipelines face delays or are not built at all. Governments are adding greenhouse gas emissions prices. Provinces have introduced higher corporate income taxes. Property and other municipal taxes on energy producers have also been on the rise. Taken together, what are the costs of these recent...

Canadian municipalities are hurting housing affordability by imposing expensive water charges on development, according to a new report published by the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Hosing Homebuyers: Why Cities Should Not Pay for Water and Wastewater Infrastructure with Development Charges”,...

The cost of housing has been going through the roof in many parts of Canada. Most government policies have focused on curtailing the demand for housing, but they have not taken meaningful steps to increase housing supply. In any competitive market without barriers to entry, regardless of the...

Saint John, Charlottetown, and Montreal have the highest tax burdens on new business investment amongst major Canadian cities, according to a new C.D. Howe Institute report. In “Business Tax Burdens in Canada's Major Cities: The 2015 Report Card,” authors Adam Found, Peter Tomlinson and...

In nearly all Canada's larger cities, obscure financial reports – notably inconsistent presentations of key numbers in budgets and end-of-year financial reports – hamper legislators, ratepayers and voters seeking to hold their municipal governments to account. Simple questions like “How...

From coast to coast, non-renewable-resource taxation is a key source of provincial government revenue – and political rancour. Alberta has recently started a comprehensive review of its oil and natural gas extraction tax system. Newfoundland and Labrador is looking at a redesign of its royalty...

Business investment per worker in Canada is at its worst level compared to the United States in more than a quarter century, according to a new C.D. Howe Institute report. In “Equipment Failure: Feeble Business Investment Costs Canadians their Competitive Edge,” authors William B.P. Robson,...

Saint John, Charlottetown and Montreal have the highest tax burdens on new business amongst major Canadian cities, according to a new C.D. Howe Institute report. In “The 2014 C.D. Howe Institute Business Tax Burden Ranking,” authors Adam Found, Benjamin Dachis and Peter Tomlinson conduct...