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The CCB is a particularly striking example of the Liberals adopting Conservative positions. In 2006, the Conservatives argued that universal cash payments were superior to the Liberals’ proposal of a public day-care system that would primarily benefit higher-income households. The Liberals’ CCB program abandons their 2006 position and extends the Conservatives’ logic by arguing that targeted payments are even better than universal cash payments.

Harper came to power with the promise of a tax cut, and keeping taxes low was the dominant theme of his government. Before he took office, federal government revenues had been above 15 per cent of gross domestic product since before the Second World War. By the time he left, revenues had come in below 15 per cent for seven years in a row and were projected to stay at that level throughout the forecast horizon of his government’s last budget.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also came to power with the promise of a tax cut, and his Liberals have shown no inclination of restoring the revenue-GDP ratio to pre-Harper levels: Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s revenue projections match Joe Oliver’s. The difference is on the spending side, but even here there are similarities to Harper’s stimulus program. In the latter years of the Liberal mandate, Morneau plans to hold the line on spending and let revenues catch up, which is also the scenario that Jim Flaherty outlined in 2010 (and then carried out).

Higher taxes have never been an easy sell, but anti-tax sentiment has deepened over that last decade. Instead of a particular program or treaty, Harper’s most enduring economic achievement may be a political culture in which parties compete to offer the most popular tax cuts in order to win. He may not be entirely displeased with such a legacy.

National Post

Stephen Gordon is a professor of economics at Université Laval.