The majority of Canada’s finance ministers earned failing or barely passing grades on the Canadian Taxpayers Federation’s annual performance report card, as raising debt levels leave taxpayers footing the bill.
While spending increased in every province compared to last year’s budget, the CTF graded the performance of finance ministers on several criteria: debt levels, debt interest payments, spending increases and tax relief.
Below are Canada’s finance ministers ranked from best to worst according to the CTF.
Saskatchewan Finance Minister Jim Reiter
Even the nation’s top performer didn’t receive an A. The CTF gave Saskatchewan Finance Minister Jim Reiter a B+.
“It’s great to see Saskatchewan trim taxes, but it also needs to stop racking up debt and wasting hundreds of millions of dollars on debt interest payments,” said Gage Haubrich, CTF Prairie Director.
Reiter received his lowest mark in the debt category, earning a C, after the provincial government increased its debt by $2.4 billion this year compared to last.
The debt will reach $18,753 per person by year’s end, the third-lowest in the country.
Alberta Finance Minister Nate Horner
Alberta Finance Minister Nate Horner followed with an overall score of B.
“It’s great to see Alberta cut taxes and protecting taxpayers, but the government also needs to stop racking up debt and wasting billions of dollars on those debt interest payments,” said Kris Sims, CTF Alberta Director.
Horner scored an A+ in tax relief after cutting the lowest income tax rate from 10 to 8 per cent, saving a typical Albertan two-person family about $1,500 annually.
However, Horner saw the other extreme in the spending increase category, earning an F. Alberta’s spending increased by 8.4 per cent this year, the second-highest growth nationwide.
Nova Scotia Finance Minister John Lohr
The streak of B grades ended with Nova Scotia Finance Minister John Lohr, who earned a C+, coming in third place.
Lohr earned an A in tax relief after implementing a one per cent HST cut and a small business tax rate cut.
“The tax relief really helps families and businesses, and that makes Nova Scotia more competitive,” Drover said. “But it’s unsustainable and irresponsible to keep increasing spending and debt when the province is already wasting about $2.5 million per day on debt interest payments.”
However, Lohr earned a D in the debt category after increasing the provincial debt by $2.2 billion this year. It will reach $22.4 billion by year’s end, totalling $20,776 per person, the sixth highest nationwide.
Prince Edward Island Finance Minister Jill Burridge
Prince Edward Island Finance Minister Jill Burridge followed Nova Scotia, earning a C- overall.
Burridge scored a B+ in tax relief, after adjusting income tax brackets and increasing the basic personal amount by $750. The province also reduced the business tax rate and raised the income threshold for small businesses.
“The tax relief really helps families and businesses and that makes Islanders more competitive,” Drover said. “But it’s unsustainable and irresponsible to hike spending and debt while the province is already wasting about $946 per person on debt interest payments.”
But the province’s spending increase was the highest in the country at 9.1 per cent, giving Burridge an F in that category.
New Brunswick Finance Minister René Legacy
Despite just scoring in the top half of provincial premiers in fifth place, New Brunswick Finance Minister René Legacy earned a D grade.
“New Brunswick families have to live within their means, but Legacy based his first budget on taking out huge loans with no plans to pay them back,” said Devin Drover, CTF Atlantic Director. “Meanwhile, despite rising cost and the threat of tariffs, Legacy has done nothing to cut taxes and make life more affordable for New Brunswickers.”
Legacy earned a D in spending increase and tax relief after increasing spending by 8.2 per cent annually and offering no tax relief for provincial residents.
Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy
Despite earning F’s in numerous categories, Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy narrowly avoided a failing grade overall with his D-.
Bethlenfalvy got an F in debt after increasing the debt by nearly $22 billion year-over-year. Per person debt will reach $28,472 by year’s end, the second highest nationwide. He also earned an F in spending increase after increasing spending by 7.9 per cent compared to last year, the third highest in the country.
Despite numerous F’s, Bethlenfalvy did manage to get a B in tax relief after making the 5.7 cents per litre tax cut permanent and saving the average family more than $1,000 since 2022.
“Ontario taxpayers are stuck paying more than a billion dollars a month to cover interest charges on the debt. Bethlenfalvy needs to rein in spending and stop piling more debt onto Ontario taxpayers,” said Gage Haubrich, the CTF communications director who authored the report.
British Columbia Finance Minister Brenda Bailey
After earning an F in one category, British Columbia Finance Minister Brenda Bailey also narrowly avoided a failing grade with her D-.
Bailey got an F in debt after increasing the provincial debt by $23.6 billion this year. By the end of the year, British Columbians will owe over $27,000 each, the fourth highest per capita debt nationwide.
However, Bailey earned C’s in debt interest payments and spending increases after hiking spending by 6.1 per cent. Provincial debt will cost residents in B.C. $5.2 billion this year, working out to $917 per person.
“Bailey’s overall performance shows she’s falling short as a finance minister,” said Carson Binda, B.C. Director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. “Irresponsible debt and big interest payments are eating away at the provincial finances, while the government misled British Columbians by cancelling promised tax relief.”
Quebec Finance Minister Éric Girard
The last finance minister to earn a D- overall grade was Quebec Finance Minister Éric Girard.
Girard was the lone finance minister who did not have an individualized press release issued by the CTF. His report card can be found in the full report.
He received F’s in both the debt and debt interest payment categories. Quebec will increase its provincial debt by $13.6 billion this year. The province’s budget was so poor that it received its first credit downgrade since the 1990s after tabling it.
Interest payments on the province’s debt will reach $9.7 billion this year, $1,065 per Quebecer.
However, Quebec had the second-lowest spending increase in the province of 5.2 per cent, earning it a B in that category.
Newfoundland and Labrador Finance Minister Siobhan Coady
Now moving onto the finance ministers who are tied at the bottom with the worst grade, Newfoundland and Labrador Finance Minister Siobhan Coady received an F.
However, Coady only received an F in two categories, debt and debt interest payments. She did manage to get a C in spending increase after increasing spending by 5.7 per cent annually, the third lowest nationwide.
Despite no tax relief offered, she got a D in that category.
“Coady again broke her promise to stop racking up government debt and put taxpayers on the hook for even more irresponsible borrowing,” said Devin Drover, CTF Atlantic Director. “Newfoundland and Labrador families have to live within their means, but the provincial government keeps taking out huge irresponsible loans.”
Manitoba Finance Minister Adrien Sala
Manitoba Finance Minister Adrien Sala also earned an F, tying for last place.
His F was even worse, considering the highest grade he got in any category was a D, compared to Coady’s C.
He similarly earned an F in two categories — debt interest payments and tax relief.
“Manitoba is the only province to hike taxes in its budget this year,” said Gage Haubrich, CTF Prairie Director. “Sala is making life more expensive for Manitobans this year with a sneaky bracket creep tax hike.”
The budget’s bracket creep will cost taxpayers $82 million, more than offsetting minor tax cuts elsewhere. Manitoba will carry $24,268 in debt per person, with interest payments reaching $1,554 per person — the second highest in Canada.