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Political conservatives had a reputation for keeping the government books in good shape and being effective managers.

Used to. Not now.

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Canadians who are a little older or wiser might remember premiers like Alberta’s Peter Lougheed or Ontario’s Bill Davis. They kept a close eye on economic performance and would tweak government policies to encourage growth. They keep the books in order. And they could be persuaded to support universal social programs to help everyone with affordability.

Conservative Prime Minister John Diefenbaker even teamed up with Saskatchewan NDP Premier Tommy Douglas to create national free hospital insurance, the first phase of universal health care.

Those leaders are gone, replaced by recklessness—as shown in a recently published analysis by Don Drummond, a former chair of the TD Bank.

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Drummond’s analysis shows the Ontario Doug Ford Party, formerly the PC Party of Ontario, would increase the deficit and debt more than any of the three main parties. And while no party is as hawkish as Drummond would like, he finds the NDP’s plan would add the least debt.