Canada’s Fiscal Advantage

This book challenges a widely held view that Canada’s fiscal system is not competitive with that of the United States. Comparing the fiscal systems of the two countries with respect to the current situation and future prospects, the authors conclude that Canada has a fiscal advantage because it has a sustainable fiscal structure while the US does not. The authors suggest that this fiscal advantage should be used to promote balanced growth and human development. They present a domestic policy strategy that rests on four fundamental pillars: (a) maintaining a sustainable fiscal structure, (b) developing more effective institutions and practices of cooperative federalism, (c) enhancing the mechanisms and forces of social cohesion, and (d) strengethening the foundations of balanced growth and sustainable development.