Author

Matthew Lau

Fellow

Matthew Lau is an economics writer in Toronto, Canada. He appears regularly in the opinion page of the Financial Post, where he has written on fiscal policy, climate change, and employment regulations, as well as lighter topics such as the economics of restaurant tipping. His writing has also been published in the Toronto Sun and other publications across Canada. Matthew is co-author of a Fraser Institute book on fiscal policy titled End of the Chretien Consensus? He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree, with a specialization in finance and economics, from the University of Toronto.

November 6, 2021

3-minute read

On economics, Ford is the new Wynne

Advocates claim minimum wage hikes help workers, but evidence shows quite the opposite.

October 15, 2021

3-minute read

Government spending puts the economy at risk

In order to improve economic health and Canadians’ standard of living, the government needs to break its expensive campaign promises and cancel the new spending.

July 24, 2021

3-minute read

For less discrimination, more capitalism

One of the favourite myths peddled by proponents of government control is that under the free-market system, discrimination is rife and leads to unfair outcomes for minorities, women, and other groups.

June 12, 2021

3-minute read

Milton Friedman still trumps Klaus Schwab

People shouldn’t be fooled by the visions of Klaus Schwab and others who dream of a better, greener, and more equal “stakeholder” capitalism.

May 1, 2021

3-minute read

More federal labour regulations mean fewer jobs

The government cannot help workers by limiting their options. Unfortunately, the Liberals propose to do just that by expanding employment regulations.

April 3, 2021

3-minute read

Tear down Canada’s interprovincial trade barriers

It is long past time that politicians caught up to economists on the free trade issue and eliminated interprovincial (and international) trade barriers.

March 15, 2021

3-minute read

The NDP’s flawed case for wealth taxes

When it comes to wealth taxes, the sensible course of action is to ignore the NDP, whose case for the tax is full of holes.

February 22, 2021

3-minute read

Monopoly school systems make even less sense now

Provincial governments in Ontario and across Canada should follow the example of states in the U.S. that have in the past year delivered the wider access to school choice that families want for their children.

January 18, 2021

3-minute read

Here’s why Canada’s climate targets are nonsense

There is a consensus in Ottawa that Canada must transition to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Here’s the problem, though: Emissions targets are economic nonsense.

December 12, 2020

3-minute read

Pandemic policy overkill will do long-term harm

The massive spending increases, especially by the federal government, on things that have nothing to do with the pandemic, and the overly restrictive lockdowns by provincial governments, are not reasonable at all.

November 14, 2020

3-minute read

Save on police budgets with private sector help

It does not make sense, especially now with public finances under pressure, to keep asking police to do things that can be done for less money by private sector civilians.

October 6, 2020

3-minute read

How government subsidies cause economic destruction

In his 1946 book Economics in One Lesson, Henry Hazlitt observed that “government ‘encouragement’ to business is sometimes as much to be feared as government hostility.”

September 10, 2020

3-minute read

Betting billions on economic ignorance

By replacing knowledge with ignorance, the certain results of the current plans to expand government programs will be slower economic growth, more poverty, and a pile of debt for taxpayers of this and future generations.

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Matthew Lau

Fellow

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