
Danielle Smith tops premiers in fiscal performance: study
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith ranked the highest in a new provincial report card on fiscal management, while British Columbia Premiers David Eby and Newfoundland’s Andrew Furey ranked the lowest.
The Fraser Institute report graded each premier’s economic oversight in the fiscal year of 2023/ 2024 on their relative budgetary performance. The study measured the rankings based on government spending, taxes, debt and deficits from the start of their tenure to the end of that fiscal year.
It measured program spending by analyzing total provincial spending while subtracting the tax dollars used to pay interest on the government’s accumulated debt.
To measure a province’s performance in keeping tax rates competitive, the authors of the study focused on both corporate income tax and personal taxes. The report looked at both the province’s general corporate income tax rate in that fiscal year and the average annual change in that tax rate during the premier’s tenure.
To measure fiscal management of personal tax rates, the Fraser Institute used eight measures, including marginal tax rates on individual income and the annual change of those rates during the premier’s tenure. The top marginal tax rate in effect during that year and the number of tax brackets in each province were also measured.
The two premiers who ranked the highest, New Brunswick’s Blaine Higgs and Manitoba’s Heather Stefanson, are no longer sitting as premiers but were included due to their governments tabling the budgets for that year.