Dear John,

I hope you had a great Christmas! It’s hard to believe 2021 is about to come to a close. I am delighted to report that the Fraser Institute had a very busy year! We released dozens of studies on topics from education, to health care, to monetary policy, and everything in between.

Not only did these studies reach more people than ever before, they often did the important work of debunking government talking points and shedding light on how policies affect the lives of Canadians.

For starters, Canada’s economic growth and debt position. The Prime Minister repeatedly claims that his government’s policies have led to stronger economic growth, and that Canada’s net debt relative to the size of the economy is the lowest in the G7. But both of those claims are simply untrue.

As we highlighted in a Globe and Mail commentary, the current government has overseen the lowest (pre-recession) annual average rates of economic growth dating back 30 years!

And the government purposely alleviates the true gravity of Canada’s indebtedness by including the assets of the Canada Pension Plan and the Quebec Pension Plan in its calculations. These shouldn’t be counted because they are pledged to support these specific programs and not to pay back government debt.

Our study on this, which received national media attention, found that Canada’s debt ranking falls from best in the G7 to 5th worst of 29 advanced countries when total debt is measured!

Secondly, the ongoing COVID pandemic. Governments across Canada patted themselves on the back for their policy responses – but based on the facts, was that deserved?

Early in 2021 we produced a detailed, 86-page study that included a statistical analysis of nearly 200 countries and their experiences with, and responses to, COVID-19.

It found that high testing rates and availability of hospital beds were crucial to managing the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, but that prolonged lockdowns and restrictions do not work.

It also found that Canada’s performance in dealing with COVID was among the worst in the developed world: there were major deficiencies in Canada’s pre-pandemic preparation, combined with low rates of testing, and low numbers of hospital beds.

Thirdly, consider our work on the carbon tax. In April, one year into a global pandemic, the federal government decided that what Canadians really needed was a tax hike.

On April 1 they raised their carbon tax by 33%, the most recent step on the way from $30 per tonne to their stated goal of $170 per tonne. In response, the Fraser Institute published the first independent, publicly available analysis of the estimated effects of a $170 per tonne carbon tax in Canada.

We launched a standalone website which communicated to Canadians the significant impacts such a tax will have on their lives: increased energy costs; 184,000 job losses nationwide; and a $22.1 billion annual deficit increase!

John, these are just three examples from the more than 90 studies we released in 2021.

With governments growing in size and adding endless regulations, it is clear that the work we do here at Fraser is more important than ever.

If you agree, I’d like to ask that you make a donation today.

Because we hold governments to account, we do not accept government funding. 100% of our revenue comes from our supporters – people just like you.

Thank you so much for your continued support, and best wishes for the new year.

Sincerely,

Niels Veldhuis
President
The Fraser Institute

PS: Did you know that a donation to the Fraser Institute entitles you to a generous tax credit at tax time? But you must donate before December 31 to get yours – donate today!