Permanent Austerity: The Politics of the Canadian Exit Strategy from Fiscal Stimulus

Abstract

Abstract: This paper fills a gap in the analysis to date in examining the political context of Canada’s fiscal stimulus rescue strategy and the subsequent turn to exit. The central question in Canada, as everywhere else, has been who will pay for the economic crisis? Canada’s federal and provincial governments have answered by signaling a sharp turn to austerity in targeting public sector workers and public services. While examples of resistance are noted, these remain far too limited to effectively challenge what is becoming a return to not just neoliberalism but a more authoritarian form at that. Keywords: austerity, public sector, deregulation, fiscal crisis.