Having trouble viewing? Try the web version [link removed] of this email. Latest Research 87.4% of world’s population experienced a decline in freedom from 2020 to 2022 [[link removed]]

The Human Freedom Index finds that nearly 9-in-10 people—87.4%—living in 165 countries around the World experienced a decline in freedom from 2020 to 2022. Switzerland is once again the freest jurisdiction on Earth, according to the latest ranking, while Canada ranks 11th.

Read More [[link removed]] Commentary and Blog Posts Comparing four federal finance ministers in moments of crisis [[link removed]] by Grady Munro, Milagros Palacios and Jason Clemens

According to projections, federal debt will increase from $1.68 trillion when Freeland took over to $2.2 trillion this year.

Fiscal update reveals extent of federal government mismanagement [[link removed]] by Jake Fuss and Grady Munro

The government ran a $61.9 billion deficit last year—$21.9 billion higher than the $40 billion deficit originally projected.

For the record—former finance minister did not keep Canada’s ‘fiscal powder dry’ [[link removed]] by Ben Eisen

The federal government forecasts a $48.3 billion budget deficit this year.

Ottawa violates its own fiscal rules in dramatic fashion [[link removed]] (Appeared in the Toronto Sun) by Jake Fuss and Grady Munro

Program spending in 2023-24 was $24.4 billion higher than the government had outlined in last year’s update.

Enough dithering—time to fix health care in Alberta [[link removed]] (Appeared in the Edmonton Sun) by Bacchus Barua and Tegan Hill

Since 2022, wait times in the province have increased by 15.3 per cent.

B.C. government’s fiscal update includes more deficits and massive debt accumulation [[link removed]] by Tegan Hill

The government will run a $9.4 billion budget deficit in 2024/25—$1.5 billion larger than originally projected.

Want higher wages? Lower business taxes in Nova Scotia [[link removed]] (Appeared in the Macdonald Notebook) by Ben Eisen

The province's business income tax rate is 14 per cent.

Quebec’s government-funded child-care system is failing families [[link removed]] by Matthew Lau

There are approximately 34,000 children on waiting lists for daycare spaces in the province.

Canadians face massive uncertainly and turbulence in 2025 [[link removed]] (Appeared in the Ottawa Sun) by Jock Finlayson

Canadian living standards have declined amid a largely stagnant economy.

Declining Canadian dollar could stifle productivity growth in Canada [[link removed]] (Appeared in the Financial Post) by Steven Globerman and Lawrence Schembri

President-elect Trump’s threatened trade actions against Canada could put downward pressure on the loonie.

Massive growth in federal workforce contributes to Ottawa’s red ink [[link removed]] (Appeared in iPolitics) by Ben Eisen

Had the government not spent this money, the federal deficit would have been 21.2 per cent smaller.

Canadians face longest waits for health care on record [[link removed]] (Appeared in the National Post) by Bacchus Barua and Mackenzie Moir

The median wait from referral by a family doctor to treatment is now 30 weeks.

Hundreds of billions in Indigenous ‘contingent liabilities’ loom large over Canada [[link removed]] (Appeared in the Hill Times) by Tom Flanagan

The federal government earmarked $76 billion in contingent liabilities, mainly for as-yet-unpaid Indigenous claims.

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