Report Archive

This report provides parliamentarians with an assessment of the state of Canada’s labour market. It examines labour market indicators relative to their trend estimates, and looks at wage inequality at the national level, as well as across provinces and by gender.

This report estimates the increase in Employment Insurance (EI) benefits payable following the implementation of private member’s motion M-141. This motion amends section 55 of the Employment Insurance Act to allow spouses of (i) military personnel and (ii) foreign service personnel to qualify for Employment Insurance while posted outside of Canada.

This report provides PBO’s assessment of the sustainability of government finances over the long term for the federal government, subnational governments and public pension plans.

This report a status update on Phase 1 of the Government’s Investing in Canada Plan, which was announced in Budget 2016 and intended to provide a short-term economic boost to the economy.

This report describes PBO’s approach to measuring potential GDP.

In preparation for the financial costing of election campaign proposals in 2019, the PBO is taking this opportunity to produce an extended outlook and line-item costing. The PBO encourages parliamentarians and their political parties to provide feedback regarding this initiative.

2017-18 Report on the Activities of the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer

The PBO has prepared an estimate of the fiscal impact of including employer-paid health benefits in an individual’s taxable income.

This report provides additional detail related to the economic impact of the carbon pricing levy presented in PBO’s April 2018 Economic and Fiscal Outlook.
 

Consistent with PBO’s mandate, this report estimates the net fiscal cost resulting from an implementation of a private member’s bill, Bill C-394 which amends the Income Tax Act to establish a tax credit with respect to maternal and parental benefits, and would "provide a tax credit that would offset any taxes owing on their maternity and parental leave."

This note examines the federal government’s Expenditure Plan and Main Estimates for 2018-19, which supports the second appropriation bill that will seek Parliament’s approval of $112.9 billion.

This report pulls together a number of databases so as to estimate the cost of recent regulatory changes governing patented pharmaceuticals. It compares the cost of patented innovative medicines with that of non-patented prescription medicines. That comparison is then used to make inferences regarding the annual cost of prolonging market exclusivity for a class of drugs similar to patented innovative medicines.

Consistent with the Parliamentary Budget Officer’s legislated mandate, this report provides PBO’s economic and fiscal outlook.

Recent changes to the Financial Administration Act require the Government of Canada to seek parliamentary approval to borrow in debt markets. The Government has done so with the Borrowing Authority Act, which came into force on 23 November 2017.

This report was prepared to address two areas of confusion that have arisen in committees and debates following Budget 2018:

1. How was this new debt aggregate calculated?
2. How should it be used to scrutinize government borrowing?

This report responds to a request of Mr. Pierre Poilievre (Carleton–CPC) to estimate the cost of establishing a guaranteed basic income program at the national level. PBO takes the policy parameters of Ontario’s basic income pilot project and applies them across the country to estimate the cost of a guaranteed basic income (GBI), and then compares the estimated cost to the current federal support for low income. The annual gross cost of expanding the Ontario Basic Income Pilot across the country would amount to an estimated $76.0 billion in 2018-2019. By 2022-2023, it would reach nearly $79.5 billion.

This report provides status report on Phase 1 of the Government’s New Infrastructure Plan, which was announced in Budget 2016 and intended to stimulate economic growth over the short-term. 

This report updates the Parliamentary Budget Officer’s estimates of the financial costs associated with offenders in federal custody. For this analysis the costs associated with correctional interventions and internal services are not included.

This report provides a long-term scenario analysis of the three largest federal transfers:  Equalization, the Canada Health Transfer and the Canada Social Transfer.

This report examines federal personnel spending, including: (i) recent trends in spending on federal personnel , (ii) PBO’s medium-term forecast for personnel spending  and (iii) analysis of important cost drivers underlying PBO’s personnel forecast.