Opinions, Editorials and Columns | Financial Post

William Watson: Why we need 'Econ for MPs'

Ideas like rent control remain alarmingly popular, even among people who should know better, despite breaking the basic laws of economics

31 Comments

William Watson FP Comment

Interior of the House of Commons in the West Block on Parliament Hill, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on March 8, 2025.

Opinion: Bank of Canada should ignore the Fed and keep talking

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Steve Ambler and Jeremy Kronick, Special to Financial Post FP Comment

US Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh holds a press conference at the Federal Reserve Board Building in Washington, DC, on June 17, 2026.

Opinion: Carney should be the anti-Trump and jettison Brookfield from his portfolio

with Video 10 Comments

Gina Pappano, Special to Financial Post FP Comment

Prime Minister Mark Carney participates in a press conference announcing the proposed National Electricity Strategy at the West Block on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Thursday, May 14, 2026.

Jack Mintz: Welcome to the world of creative funding for public works

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Jack M. Mintz FP Comment

View of 24 Sussex Drive from Rockcliffe Park in Ottawa on Monday, July 22, 2019.

William Watson: A beautiful neoliberal game

William Watson FP Comment

Players of Canada celebrate the team's 6-0 victory in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group B match between Canada and Qatar at BC Place Vancouver on June 18, 2026 in Vancouver, British Columbia.

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Opinion: Volatile rail pricing plagues Canada’s grain industry

Ottawa controls the total amount railways can earn from hauling grain but short-term rate changes cause problems during peak periods

with Video 5 Comments
Mary-Jane Bennett, Special to Financial Post 4 days ago FP Comment
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Opinion: The West Coast tanker ban still defies logic

Sending a new oil pipeline to B.C.'s south coast saves Mark Carney a political fight but makes little sense economically or scientifically

with Video 22 Comments
Robert Lyman, Special to Financial Post 5 days ago FP Comment
Terence Corcoran: How the greens killed Canada's pipeline economy

Governments are having to buy pipelines because their own policies and their activist allies have killed the return to investing in them

8 Comments
Terence Corcoran 5 days ago FP Comment
Opinion: Bill C-22 will be a hacker's dream

Law enforcement is a noble goal but requiring data companies store every Canadian's internet activity for six months invites disaster

with Video 6 Comments
David Clement and Sabine Benoit, Special to Financial Post 6 days ago FP Comment
Matthew Lau: Maybe AI can solve tax complexity

The cost of personal tax assistance keeps rising. New technology may help but only governments can fix the tax system by simplifying it

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Matthew Lau 6 days ago FP Comment

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William Watson: PMs shouldn’t be for turning — much

Keir Starmer's reputation for policy U-turns eventually did him in. But inflexibility can be harmful, too. Mark Carney should take note

8 Comments
William Watson July 4, 2026 FP Comment
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Opinion: Return of the reasonable person

The Competition Bureau is applying a sensible test to claims that energy company public service ads are misleading. Good for it!

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Stewart Muir, Special to Financial Post July 4, 2026 FP Comment
Opinion: OSFI would do a good job even better with a board model

The superintendent of financial institutions has too many responsibilities. They need to be spread over a group rather than one person

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Jamey Hubbs and Mawakina Bafale , Special to Financial Post July 3, 2026 FP Comment
Jack Mintz: Don’t expect a World Cup economic bounce

A recent study suggests growth expectations may rise slightly after a competition but the effect, when it does occur, isn't big

with Video 5 Comments
Jack M. Mintz July 3, 2026 FP Comment
William Watson: To get graft out of government, get government out of business

We need more business people in politics but presidents and prime ministers shouldn't be running businesses on the side

William Watson July 2, 2026 FP Comment

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Opinion: Mark Carney deserves health-care praise

Like many European nations, Alberta is going to allow people to buy health care in-province. So far the prime minister has not objected

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Colin Craig, Special to Financial Post July 1, 2026 FP Comment
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Matthew Lau: Happy Birthday to two great free-market economists

Frédéric Bastiat and Thomas Sowell both teach us that good intentions aren't enough to prevent unintended ills from government policy

Matthew Lau June 30, 2026 FP Comment
William Watson: Our discontent is about freedom

If Canadians are feeling glummer this Canada Day than in previous decades, it's because governments are treading less lightly on our lives

24 Comments
William Watson June 27, 2026 FP Comment
Opinion: Our capital markets need to start looking for Canadian SpaceXs

The real lesson of the SpaceX IPO is that great things can be done in a country whose private lenders will bet on bold ideas

with Video 5 Comments
Adam Froman, Special to Financial Post June 27, 2026 FP Comment
Jack Mintz: Canada's carbon policies offset Alberta’s tax advantage

Carbon taxes and emissions credits both raise producers' marginal costs, offsetting the benefits of very competitive taxes of other kinds

6 Comments
Jack M. Mintz June 26, 2026 FP Comment

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Opinion: Carney should reject top-down big government and pivot to sound policy

The prime minister needs to spend more time in the country and stop trying to micro-manage the economy

Peter Brown, Special to Financial Post June 26, 2026 FP Comment
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William Watson: Stop spinning us with our own money

Of all the wasteful forms of government spending the very worst are the TV ads in which governments tell us what great jobs they're doing

9 Comments
William Watson June 25, 2026 FP Comment
Opinion: We tariff ourselves more than Trump does

Interprovincial trade barriers are equivalent to a nine per cent tariff on our own goods and services. That's higher than the Trump tariffs

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Koyna Gupta, Special to Financial Post June 25, 2026 FP Comment
Opinion: How do we deepen our U.S. trade but diversify, as well?

China is the most likely diversification target but developing that relationship will cause complications in our trade with the Americans

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Steven Globerman and Jock Finlayson, Special to Financial Post June 24, 2026 FP Comment
Philip Cross: Bank of Canada unapologetic about inflation miss

The bank's failure to control prices means Canadians spend more of their budgets on food, shelter, health care and gas

with Video 25 Comments
Philip Cross June 24, 2026 FP Comment

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Matthew Lau: Why are food prices so high? Ottawa, investigate thyself

The Competition Bureau wants to know why food prices keep rising. It should start with policies that raise costs and restrict supply

9 Comments
Matthew Lau June 23, 2026 FP Comment
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Joe Oliver: Active management costs Canadian pensioners big time

Buying indexes instead would reduce costs and, judging by the numbers, increase accumulated returns by hundreds of billions of dollars

22 Comments
Joe Oliver June 23, 2026 FP Comment
Opinion: Canada’s debt crisis will come from Washington

Our public debts are high but manageable. Americans' are high and growing unsustainably. A U.S. crisis could hit us hard

with Video 6 Comments
Martin Eichenbaum, Special to Financial Post June 19, 2026 FP Comment
Jack Mintz: America's G7 partners need to up their game

In the 1970s the G7 countries produced almost two-thirds of world GDP. Their share has fallen sharply as has their influence

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Jack M. Mintz June 19, 2026 FP Comment
William Watson: Hello, Canada. We’ll survive without HNIC on CBC

People who want to watch hockey still can. Those who don't won't have to pay taxes to help CBC buy the rights to it

William Watson June 18, 2026 FP Comment

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William Watson: Universities should not do pro sports

More high-profile U.S. universities are paying their intercollegiate athletes. Canadian schools shouldn't copy that trend

William Watson June 20, 2026 FP Comment
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Opinion: Let’s not start regulating caffeine

Quebec's ban on selling energy drinks to people under 16, which covers only 11 per cent of consumption, won't be the last caffeine law

David Clement, Special to Financial Post June 18, 2026 FP Comment
Bjorn Lomborg: The WHO’s climate prescription is bad medicine

Heat deaths are up, though mainly because old people are a much larger share of the population, while deaths from the cold are way down

7 Comments
Bjorn Lomborg, Special to Financial Post June 17, 2026 FP Comment
Opinion: We should ease back on housing support

As governments have poured money and tax benefits into housing, other investment sectors have languished. Policy needs to rejig the balance

David-Alexandre Brassard, Special to Financial Post June 17, 2026 FP Comment
Opinion: If everyone loves internal trade, what's the holdup?

In the face of the Trump tariffs, everybody in Canada favours more internal trade. Trouble is, everybody also favours their own exemptions

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Miguel Ouellette, Special to Financial Post June 16, 2026 FP Comment

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Opinion: Will we see you in September, gas tax?

In April, Ottawa temporarily suspended the gas tax. In 1973, a temporary freeze on oil prices led to a decade of price regulation

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Robert Skinner, Special to Financial Post June 16, 2026 FP Comment
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Joe Oliver: Carney getting performative is raising public skepticism

The prime minister seems unwilling to back up soothing talk on pipelines and antisemitism with real action that would make a difference

with Video 14 Comments
Joe Oliver June 12, 2026 FP Comment
Jack Mintz: There are reasons Canadians have flocked to Alberta and B.C.

Over the past 30 years Alberta has gained more than half a million people from other provinces. That's an advantage it should want to keep

with Video 24 Comments
Jack M. Mintz June 12, 2026 FP Comment
Opinion: Bank governor Carney aced ‘forward guidance.’ Not PM Carney

The key to good guidance is to be clear in what you promise and then follow through on it. Mark Carney is challenged by both

Kevin Lynch, Special to Financial Post June 12, 2026 FP Comment
William Watson: It’s amazing they haven’t tried to ban hockey yet

One of the world's most touchy-feely countries has one of the world's most violent national sports. How long will that last?

William Watson June 11, 2026 FP Comment

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