Canada's investment growth rate has dropped below that of the United States and many other developed countries
Alarm bells ought to be ringing in Canada. Business, industrial and foreign direct investment have performed pitifully over the past decade, with no reason to believe there will be a turnaround any time soon. As noted by fellow Troy Media contributor Steven Globerman of Western Washington University, “from 2010 to 2019, Canada’s investment growth rate…
The continued reliance on cash is a symbol of good governance
When I audited an economics class in the Rice University School of Business, the lecturer compared inflation to slow-growing cancer and deflation to a heart attack. The implication was that deflation – declining prices – is fatal and worse than inflation. This Keynesian fearmongering, which empowers central banks to water down currencies, is common but…
The Trudeau government is papering over its policy failures by rationing housing to the working class
There’s no mystery as to why Canada has seen a record-setting housing spike in the past year: negative real interest rates and monetary debasement from federal deficits. Rather than considering fiscal austerity and getting inflation under control, the federal government has opted to ration home buying and exclude those on the margins. Officials have raised,…
Despite decades of subsidies by Canadian taxpayers, Bombardier Inc. continues to be mired in a financial crisis jeopardizing its future. The latest humiliation came as the company had to sell its train-making division to pay off a substantial amount of debt due this year. Once a proud symbol of Canadian entrepreneurship, it now is the…
Fear often trumps any proportionality or civil-liberties concern. After the virus passes, surveillance tools will remain
Crises are the perfect breeding ground for authoritarians and social engineers. The extreme measures governments have rolled out to contain the COVID-19 pandemic remind us that fear often trumps any proportionality or civil-liberties concern. Since it originated in Wuhan, the crisis has exposed the spread and depth of the Communist Party of China’s mass-surveillance apparatus.…
China is trying to bend Canadian culture to its will. This will only get worse as Chinese economic clout grows in Canada
A Vancouver court is the battleground for two visions of Canada’s future. The United States wants the extradition of Meng Wanzhou, a top Huawei executive, while China wants Canada to let her go. As a matter of principle and strategy, Canada must stand up to Chinese imperialism by siding with the U.S. The Huawei faceoff…
Centralization undermines bottom-up co-ordination already underway between the provinces and territories
Advocates for centralized financial regulation have met their match in Canada. The nation is proof that competition between intranational jurisdictions can foster diverse, prosperous capital markets. In the research paper, The Federal Takeover of Canada’s Capital Markets, we argue the decades-long push for a national securities regulator is a solution in search of a problem.…
The good news is the Constitution guarantees free trade among provinces. But do federal officials have the political will?
If there’s one near unanimous consensus among economists, it’s that free trade increases productivity and boosts growth. The flip side is that tariffs, quotas and other trade barriers generally reduce welfare. A recent study by the International Monetary Fund suggests Canada – on account of trade impediments between the provinces – is forgoing a four…
Shale-gas policy changes, followed by investments across the country, would turn Canada into an international leader in the transition towards clean energy
“It takes real skill to derail an industry where Canada has so many competitive advantages,” writes Rick Rule regarding energy markets. The chief executive of Sprott US Holdings, a natural-resource brokerage, says the barrier is politics, while Canadian firms, technology and geology are top tier. Fortunately, policy can change and Canada can lead clean-energy production.…
Mounting student debt and irrelevant fields of study have left us with a frustrated and unproductive young population
Last summer, the federal government paid employers more than $200 million and up to 100 per cent of compensation to get them to hire students. If these young adults are Canada’s best and brightest – enjoying taxpayer-funded education – why are they so unappealing to employers that they have to be discounted to half price…
Alarm bells ought to be ringing in Canada. Business, industrial and foreign direct investment have performed pitifully over the past decade, with no reason to believe there will be a turnaround any time soon. As noted by fellow Troy Media contributor Steven Globerman of Western Washington University, “from 2010 to 2019, Canada’s investment growth rate…
