In response to COVID-19, and the public health response to it, Canada’s federal and provincial governments have accumulated debt in amounts not seen since World War 2. General government debt (federal plus provincial) is expected to exceed 100% of GDP — according to the latest forecast from the IMF … Read this articleGovernment Debt Sustainability in Canada’s Post-COVID Future
The Federal government is in need of a new fiscal anchor. If there is one thing the current crisis has revealed on the fiscal policy front, it is that the debt-to-GDP ratio alone cannot adequately play that role. As a result, additional fiscal rules that allow potentially large deficits during recessions while ultimately balancing budgets over the cycle will be needed to keep the country’s finances on a sustainable path. Read this articleCanada Needs a New Fiscal Anchor. (Québec Has One to Offer.)
The federal debt is rising fast and is likely to reach at least 63 percent of GDP by 2025, a level not seen since the fiscal crisis of the 1990s. But the current low level of interest rates (if continued in the future) mean that the debt-to-GDP ratio is sustainable and will likely decline gradually over time, without the need for any sharp fiscal consolidation in the coming years. Read this articleFederal debt from 1867 … and after the pandemic
How do governments manage fiscal planning amid the unpredictable health and economic effects of a deadly pandemic? Read this articleBuilding the Bridge to a Post COVID-19 Economy
