OTTAWA — A report released by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation shows the government of Canada spent the fifth most among industrialized peers but didn’t achieve the best health-care outcomes and had below-average economic results during the pandemic.
“More tax dollars spent on the pandemic didn’t mean better health or economic results,” said Franco Terrazzano, Federal Director with the CTF. “It’s time for Canadian governments to rein in the borrowing and stop racking up debt.”
The CTF’s report compares all G20 countries using the International Monetary Fund’s most recent 2021 data on COVID-19 related government expenditures. The report found there is no clear relationship between high levels of government spending on the pandemic and better health and economic outcomes.
Canada was the fifth largest spender, with pandemic spending totaling 15.9 per cent of GDP, according to the reprt. Despite the large sums spent by the government, Canada ranked eigth in preventing deaths and 12th in economic activity in 2020 and 2021 among G20 countries.
South Korean governments spent less than the G20 average on the pandemic and had the third lowest deaths and third best economic outcomes in 2020.
According to CTF, the government of Canada’s spending had reached all-time highs before the pandemic. The 2021 federal budget plans to increase permanent spending by more than $100 billion by 2026, the organization reports.
“Instead of prioritizing spending, Ottawa wants to spend more money on everything forever,” said Terrazzano. “The federal government should bring spending back to pre-pandemic levels, which were already all-time highs, and work toward balancing the budget.”
Find the CTF’s report here.
