In the inaugural episode of Talking Heads with Andrew Coyne, The Globe and Mail columnist is taking on the economy. Coyne takes a deep look at Canada’s economic trajectory and the threats it faces with compounding threats and a United States that is willing to punish friends and allies.
His guest, economist Don Drummond argues the country is drifting toward an economic tipping point fuelled by weak growth, rising debt and declining productivity.
Drummond, Stauffer-Dunning fellow at Queen’s University and fellow-in-residence at the C.D. Howe Institute, helped shape the landmark 1995 federal budget at a time when servicing debt consumed more than a third of federal tax revenues. He explains how a sense of urgency at the time helped build support for difficult decisions that ultimately restored fiscal stability.
Their conversation also explores Canada’s federal and provincial debt burdens and whether governments have become too comfortable running persistent deficits. Drummond says that spending, rather than revenues, has been the main driver of fiscal deterioration in recent years.
Producer - Isabel Harder
Technical producer - Patrick Dell
Video editor - Sarah Espedido
Opinion editor - Natasha Hassan
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