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On the campaign trail, candidate Doug Ford promised his Progressive Conservatives, if elected, would put a big sign on Ontario’s proverbial door declaring the province “Open for Business.”

There was some potentially encouraging news last week when Ford’s new PC government announced it would cancel several costly solar and wind electricity contracts to contain energy costs.

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If the government is able to reduce energy prices, this will certainly be great news, especially in the manufacturing sector. But still more is needed to make Ontario a top investment destination for firms in a broad array of sectors.

A good next step would be to reduce the province’s general corporate income tax rate. Corporate tax rates are important for many different reasons. For example, economic research shows high rates can undermine economic performance.

In this area, Ontario (and Canada, more broadly) is under competitive pressure from the United States where a major 2017 reform package strengthened America’s corporate income tax (CIT) system, rationalizing it and lowering high rates. The change completely erased a meaningful advantage Ontario previously held over nearby U.S. states.