The financial crisis in Cyprus.

Léger Marketing opinion poll commissioned by the Montreal Economic Institute.

CAQ's Projet St-Laurent.

The governing party's ideology and the evolution of public spending as a share of GDP.

Public policy debates are often coloured by ideological preconceptions. For example, we expect political parties on "the left" to have a tendency to increase public spending when they are in power, and parties on "the right" to have a tendency to reduce it. This perception clearly stems from official statements that emphasize different goals. But what is the reality?

Washington's inability to control its spending.

Quebec benefits from unusually low interest rates in financing its debt, making this heavy burden manageable, at least for the time being. But what will happen when borrowing costs rise? Lenka Martinek, chief strategist of Daily Insights at BCA Research estimates that a 2% increase in interest rates would require $1.3 billion in additional spending on debt service in 2018. And this scenario does not take account of a potential recession.

The tax burden in Quebec.

The deficit situation in Canadian provinces.

Deficit reduction in the US.