Government Spending Facts Two

Randall White is the author of Voice of Region: On the Long Journey to
Senate Reform in Canada and Too Good to Be True: Toronto in the 1920s.

It will surprise no one that this volume bears both the right-wing
ideological and the west-coast geographical markings that characterize
most Fraser Institute publications. Because it is largely a compilation
of statistics on spending by all three levels of government in Canada,
however, even those who do not share the Institute’s biases could find
it of some use. Unfortunately, numbers are typically presented for the
years 1970, 1975, 1980, 1985, 1988, and 1990, and do not illuminate the
most recent trends. The only somewhat dated story of Canadian government
spending from 1970 and 1990 is nonetheless interesting enough.

The material will probably prove most useful as a crib for staunch
advocates of expenditure reductions. In the current Canadian fiscal
climate, it is bound to have a certain wider interest as well. Total
government spending in Canada, for instance, accounted for just over 46
percent of gross domestic product in 1990, up from just under 40 percent
in 1970, but down from 47 percent in 1985. The comparable figures for
Newfoundland are just under 74 percent in 1990, up from just under 53
percent in 1970, but down from 85 percent in 1985. If you find numbers
of this sort at all interesting (and are not overwhelmed by dense tables
of statistics), Government Spending Facts Two will at least repay a
leisurely evening of browsing.