Policy library

Revenues Relative to GDP (%)

Program Expenses Per Capita

There is a clear and persistent imbalance between revenue and expenditures, which is not sustainable in the long run. The question is whether the solution should involve a reduction in spending or an increase in revenue, or a combination of the two, or a movement in the same direction with one dominating. For example, one could increase expenditures sustainably so long as revenues rose sufficiently quickly to yield a net reduction in the deficit. A comparison of Ontario with other provinces and territories reveals that Ontario is an outlier, consistently having the lowest or second lowest expenditures as a share of GDP. Notably, the only province that has lower program expenditure/GDP ratios are Alberta and Saskatchewan, and those lower ratios are entirely due to those provinces having a much higher per capita GDP than Ontario – about 32% higher for Alberta and about 15% higher for Saskatchewan. Alberta and Saskatchewan spend more per capita on programs than Ontario, as the next graph below shows.

The reason for the jump in the debt/GDP ratio is the large and increasing deficits. The deficits are projected to decline for many jurisdictions in 2021-22, but they remain large and as a consequence, the debt/GDP ratio (above) was projected to increase in 2021-22 in spite of the drop in the deficits.

Recent data from RBC and Statistics Canada confirm a marked trend towards rising provincial and federal deficits. There was a sharp projected jump in the debt/GDP ratio for 2020-21, with the ratio projected to deteriorate in a number of provinces, including Ontario. Ontario leads all provinces and territories in debt/GDP by a large margin, with the exception of Newfoundland. Figures from 2020-21 onwards (bolded) are projected.

Ontario’s 2021 budget confirmed a jump in the program spending and in deficits for 2020-21, the year of the pandemic, although spending and deficits are projected to decline in 2021-22. Over the period 2011-12 to 2021-22, total spending (program spending plus interest payments) has always exceeded revenues, so there has always a deficit. In many years, program spending alone exceeded revenues.

Age-Adjusted Per Capita Health Spending

Health as a percentage of program spending

Smoking Rates in Ontario 2017-2018

Weekly COVID-19 Deaths Among Ontario Long-Term Care Residents

Prevalence of dementia and select mental health symptoms contributing to mental health acuity in long-term care home residents in 2018-2019

Prevalence of household food insecurity in relation to racial/cultural identity and Indigenous status, 2017-2018, Canada

Percentage of urban households in core housing need, Ontario

Gini coefficients of adjusted market, total and after-tax income, Ontario

Percentage of persons in low income, by age, sex and economic family type, Ontario

Results for All Regions Within the Province/Territory: Perceived Health (Percentage), 2017 to 2018

Tuberculosis rates and cases

Rate of serious complications in the last year among people living with diabetes, in Ontario, by fiscal year

LTC COVID-19 Active Cases in Ontario

Ontario RN Work Status

Gonorrhea & Chlamydia cases for all ages, for all sexes, in Ontario

Cases of opioid-related emergency department visits

Percentage of people who died in hospital, community and long-term care.

Percentage of patients who reported that their primary family or friend caregiver expressed continued feelings of distress, anger or depression over a six-month period.

Percentage of home care patients who strongly agreed that they felt involved in developing their home care plan