Job growth in government exceeded the private sector in 8 out of 10 provinces from 2019-23

In eight of 10 provinces the rate of government job growth has been higher than the private sector, finds a new study published today by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank.

“Canada’s net job creation in recent years has been disproportionately driven by growth in government employment rather than growth in the private sector, and as of 2019, government employment as a share of total employment in the country is at its highest point since the mid-1990s,” said Ben Eisen, Fraser Institute senior fellow and co-author of Economic Recovery in Canada before and after COVID: Job Growth in the Government and Private Sectors.

The study finds that historically, no other recent era of recession and recovery in Canada have been so dominated by government sector job growth compared to private sector job growth.

During the recession and recovery periods related to the COVID-19 recession (2019-2023), government employment across the country, including federal, provincial and municipal increased by 13.0 per cent compared to just 3.6 per cent in the private sector (including self-employment.)

In every Canadian province save for Alberta and Nova Scotia, employment in the government sector expanded at a higher rate than the private sector. In BC, employment growth in the private sector (including self-employment) rose only by 0.5 per cent during the period compared to 22.0 per cent in the government sector. Ontario’s public sector experienced triple the growth the private sector had, with 14.6 per cent and 4.8 per cent, respectively.

The study also compares the current recession and recovery in Canada to the United States, where the private sector has generated a large majority of all new jobs in recent years. In Canada, the government sector is responsible for 46.7 per cent of total job growth from 2019-203 compared to 16.1 per cent in the United States.

“Canada has seen a much higher rate of job growth in the government sector than the private sector in recent years, which is a concerning trend given that job growth and wealth creation in the private sector are needed to finance the activities of governments,” said Eisen.

Several past analyses published by the Fraser Institute have shown that in recent years net job creation in the government sector has dramatically outstripped private-sector job creation.
This publication updates these data, showing that during the recession brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and the following recovery (2019–2023), government employment has increased by 13.0% while employment in the private sector (including self-employment) increased just 3.6%
We further expand past analysis by comparing the ongoing recovery from the COVID-19 recession to past periods of economic recession and recovery.
We find that the extent to which the current economic recovery is driven by government job growth is historically unusual. We compare the current economic environment to five past economic recessions and slowdowns and find that none of those recoveries were nearly as reliant on job creation in the government sector.
We also compare the current recession and recovery in Canada to that in the United States, which differs sharply. In the United States, the private sector has generated a large majority of all new jobs in recent years and the rate of net job creation in the private sector has been nearly identical to that in the government sector.
As a result of disproportionately faster growth in the public-sector employment, government’s share of employment post-COVID is higher than at any point since the fiscal consolidations of the 1990s.

Authors:

Ben Eisen

Senior Fellow, Fraser Institute

Milagros Palacios

Director, Addington Centre for Measurement, Fraser Institute

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All party leaders must oppose April 1 alcohol tax hike

Published on March 25, 2025

Todayville

By Franco Terrazzano

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on all party leaders to commit to ending the escalator tax that increases federal taxes on alcohol every year on April 1 without a vote in Parliament.

“In one week, the federal government will hike alcohol taxes again this year,” said Franco Terrazzano, CTF Federal Director. “Instead of making life even harder for brewers, distillers, pubs and restaurants by layering tax hikes on top of tariffs, the federal government should cut taxes to make Canadian businesses more competitive.”

Federal alcohol taxes will increase two per cent on April 1. This alcohol tax hike will cost taxpayers about $40 million in 2025-26, according to Beer Canada estimates.

The alcohol escalator tax has automatically increased excise taxes on beer, wine and spirits every year, without a vote in Parliament, since 2017. The alcohol escalator tax has cost taxpayers more than $900 million since being imposed, according to Beer Canada estimates.

Taxes from multiple levels of government account for about half of the price of alcohol.

Meanwhile, tariffs are hitting the industry hard. Brewers have described the tariffs as “Armageddon for craft brewing.”

“Automatic tax hikes are undemocratic, uncompetitive and unaffordable and they need to stop,” said Carson Binda, CTF B.C. Director. “All federal party leaders should commit to making life more affordable for Canadian consumers and businesses by ending the undemocratic alcohol escalator tax.”

Artificial Intelligence

Apple faces proposed class action over its lag in Apple Intelligence

Published on March 25, 2025

Todayville

News release from The Deep View

Apple, already moving slowly out of the gate on generative AI, has been dealing with a number of roadblocks and mounting delays in its effort to bring a truly AI-enabled Siri to market. The problem, or, one of the problems, is that Apple used these same AI features to heavily promote its latest iPhone, which, as it says on its website, was “built for Apple Intelligence.”

Now, the tech giant has been accused of false advertising in a proposed class action lawsuit that argues that Apple’s “pervasive” marketing campaign was “built on a lie.”

The details: Apple has — if reluctantly — acknowledged delays on a more advanced Siri, pulling one of the ads that demonstrated the product and adding a disclaimer to its iPhone 16 product page that the feature is “in development and will be available with a future software update.”

But that, to the plaintiffs, isn’t good enough. Apple, according to the complaint, has “deceived millions of consumers into purchasing new phones they did not need based on features that do not exist, in violation of multiple false advertising and consumer protection laws.”
Apple “enriched itself by saving the costs they reasonably should have spent on ensuring that the (iPhones) had the technical capabilities advertised,” according to the complaint.

Apple did not respond to a request for comment.

The lawsuit was first reported by Axios, and can be read here.

This all comes amid an executive shuffling that just took place over at Apple HQ, which put Vision Pro creator Mike Rockwell in charge of the Siri overhaul, according to Bloomberg.

Still, shares of Apple rallied to close the day up around 2%, though the stock is still down 12% for the year.