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There’s a school of thought that says that cancelling the census was a victory for the cause of small government: the lack of census data will hobble any attempt on the part of future governments to expand the reach of the state. I’ve never understood this argument, because the basic structure of the Canadian welfare state — unemployment insurance, public health insurance, public pensions — was all set up before the first modern census was conducted in 1971. Lack of data didn’t stop the implementation of social programs in the past, and is hardly likely to prevent them in the future.

At this point, Conservatives would no doubt be quick to point to the reduced share of national income that is absorbed by the federal government, and not without reason. They can fairly claim to have established a new trend that is likely to continue for several years, regardless of who wins the next election.

An efficient tax generates the most revenues for the least economic cost, and for the most part, the Conservatives have made the tax system less efficient

During the 60 years between the end of the Second World War and the election of the Conservatives in 2006, federal government revenues twice came in below 15% of GDP: once in 1958-59, and again in 1963-64. Stephen Harper’s government has now pulled off this trick in seven consecutive years, from 2008-09 through to the most recent fiscal year of 2014-15. And in the absence of significant revenue-generating measures — and so far, none have been proposed by any of the three major parties — revenues are projected to stay below the threshold of 15% of GDP until at least 2020.