=============
FRASER UPDATE
A weekly digest of our latest research, commentary, and blog posts
=============


Latest Research
---------------------
Access to affordable, abundant energy could be key to COVID recovery
Stimulating Economic Growth Through Abundant Energy finds that access to affordable, abundant energy promotes economic growth and could help Canada recover from the COVID recession. In particular, a ten per cent increase in energy use is associated with a 1.16 per cent increase in GDP. Critically, Canada’s economic growth over the past decade was already weaker than several other developed countries including the United States, Germany, Japan, and the whole G7 group of economies, on average.
Read More [[link removed]]

American cities show that growing, prospering metropolitan areas can also be affordable to live in
Changes in the Affordability of Housing in Canadian and American Cities, 2006–2016 is a new study that measures changes in housing affordability—shelter costs as a share of income—over a 10-year period in 396 cities in Canada and the United States. Crucially, while affordability increased by an average of 10.5 per cent for the 344 American metropolitan areas included in the analysis, housing affordability actually decreased by 7.6 per cent, on average, in the 52 Canadian metropolitan areas over the same 10-year period. Put differently, while the majority of U.S. cities included in the analysis simultaneously experienced population and income growth and increasing housing affordability, Canada’s largest cities—while experiencing similar population and income growth—became less affordable to live in.
Read More [[link removed]]


Commentary and Blog Posts
---------------------
Blog series part 1—Trudeau government produced string of deficits, raised taxes on middle class [[link removed]]
by Jason Clemens, Milagros Palacios, and Niels Veldhuis
The government increased income taxes for more than 80 per cent of middle-income families.

Blog series part 2—Incomes, overall income economy grew more slowly under Liberals than before 2008-09 recession [[link removed]]
by Jason Clemens, Milagros Palacios, and Niels Veldhuis
Excluding residential investment, business investment dropped 17.3 per cent.

Young people living with their parents could receive $11.8 billion from CERB [[link removed]]
(Appeared in the National Post) by Jason Clemens, Milagros Palacios, and Nathaniel Li
The CERB will now cost an estimated $73.1 billion.

Dubious Paris climate goals mean major economic pain for Canadians [[link removed]]
(Appeared in the Calgary Sun) by Robert P. Murphy
Canada has pledged to reduce emissions by 30 per cent by 2030.

Three recessions tell Ontario’s debt story [[link removed]]
by Ben Eisen
In 1990, Ontario’s debt-to-GDP ratio stood at 13 per cent.

Trudeau government must rein in compensation for government workers [[link removed]]
(Appeared in National Newswatch) by Jake Fuss and Alex Whalen
Government workers receive 9.4 per cent more, on average, in wages than Canadians in the private sector.

Any credible plan to fix federal finances must address pre-COVID spending [[link removed]]
by Tegan Hill
Indigenous and Northern Affairs represented the largest share of federal program spending growth.



SUPPORT THE FRASER INSTITUTE
---------------------
The Fraser Institute has been ranked the #1 think tank in Canada, and the 14th best think tank out of more than 8,200 around the world! We keep Canadians – and decision-makers! – informed.

But we are only as strong as our supporters. We do not accept government grants or payments for research - we depend on individuals like you to continue our good work! We are a charity - your donation entitles you to a generous tax credit at tax time!

Donate Now [[link removed]]

Contact Us [[link removed]]
Privacy Policy [[link removed]]
Unsubscribe [link removed]

The Fraser Institute's 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. Email is one of the best tools we have to accomplish these goals. If you no longer wish to receive e-mail updates from us, click here to unsubscribe [link removed].

Fraser Institute | 4th Floor, 1770 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC V6J 3G7