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FRASER UPDATE
A weekly digest of our latest research, commentary, and blog posts
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Latest Research
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Incomes in Windsor and London are $10-12,000 below incomes in Detroit, Buffalo and Cleveland
Measuring Ontario’s Prosperity Gap at The Metropolitan Area Level is a new study that ranks employment incomes in the largest 107 metropolitan areas around the Great Lakes region for 2019. It finds that London (93rd) and Windsor (99th) are right near the bottom and are $10-12,000 less than median employment incomes in Detroit, Buffalo and Cleveland.
Read More [[link removed]]
Estonia’s average income was 84% higher than Finland’s before socialism—by 1985, it was 22% of Finland’s
The Road to Freedom: Estonia’s Remarkable Rise from Socialist Vassal State to One of the Freest Nations on Earth, part of the Fraser Institute’s Realities of Socialism series, finds that after the Soviet Union invaded Estonia and imposed socialism, living standards in Estonia plummeted—particularly compared to neighbouring Finland.
Read More [[link removed]]
Realities of Socialism Podcast
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The Realities of Socialism: Polish Life Under Socialism [[link removed]]
Matthew D. Mitchell, Senior Fellow in the Centre for Economic Freedom at the Fraser Institute and co-author of The Road to Socialism and Back, joins host Rosemarie Fike to discuss what life in Poland under socialism looked like for the average person, including forced labour, austere living conditions, restrictions on rights and resources--and how in a socialist society, almost no one has the means let alone the incentive to create value for others.
Commentary and Blog Posts
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Federal government keeps violating self-imposed fiscal rules [[link removed]]
(Appeared in the Hill Times) by Jake Fuss and Grady Munro
The federal debt-to-GDP ratio will increase to 42.4 per cent in 2023-24 then climb higher in 2024-25.
Provinces should learn from Quebec and expand use of private health-care clinics [[link removed]]
(Appeared in the Edmonton Sun) by Tegan Hill and Bacchus Barua
Participating hospitals have reduced wait times to well below the provincial average.
Federal government clearly misstates its economic record [[link removed]]
(Appeared in the Toronto Sun) by Jock Finlayson
Since 2015 Canada has posted some of the weakest economic growth numbers in half a century.
Alberta projects $5.5 billion surplus in 2023/24 but luck may soon run out [[link removed]]
by Tegan Hill
Every US$1 decline in oil prices reduces government revenues by an estimated $630 million.
Insights from a Discussion Between Titans [[link removed]]
by Jason Clemens and Jake Fuss
The top 10 per cent earned 29.1 per cent of all income but paid 35.8 per cent of the total tax burden.
Canada remains poor performer among countries with universal health care [[link removed]]
(Appeared in True North) by Mackenzie Moir and Bacchus Barua
Among universal health-care countries, Canada ranked 28th out of 30 for the number of physicians available per 1,000 people.
Solve teacher shortage by paying some teachers more money [[link removed]]
(Appeared in the Epoch Times) by Michael Zwaagstra
In government-run schools, union collective agreements constrain teacher salaries.
Ottawa’s red ink leaves little room for defence spending commitments [[link removed]]
(Appeared in National Newswatch) by Alex Whalen and Jake Fuss
The federal government wants Canada’s military to cut $1 billion from its budget.
Manitoba’s gap between homebuilding and population growth widest in 40 years [[link removed]]
(Appeared in the Winnipeg Sun) by Steve Lafleur
Last year the province's population increased by 4.6 new residents per home built.
Saskatchewan’s surprise deficit should serve as warning for Alberta [[link removed]]
by Tegan Hill
The provincial government revised its $1.0 billion projected budget surplus to a $250.5 million projected deficit.
More Nova Scotia families choosing independent schools—despite lack of government support [[link removed]]
(Appeared in the Halifax Chronicle Herald) by Paige MacPherson and Alex Whalen
Governments in Quebec and the four western provinces partially fund independent schools.
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