Economic analysis

Does Jim Flaherty deserve a ‘pass’ in the cabinet shuffle?

Stephen Gordon, Kevin Milligan and Mike Moffatt grade the minister

He steered the Canadian economy through the worst global crisis since the Great Depression and sought to take away the proverbial “punch bowl”—to use a central bank metaphor— when homeowners and investors seemed to be getting too excited about ever-rising housing prices. And in just a few more months Jim Flaherty could become the third-longest serving finance minister in Canada’s history (after William Fielding and Paul Martin, in case you were wondering). But will Mr. Flaherty survive a widely expected cabinet shuffle this summer? Speculations on the issue have been many and varied.

More important still, though, is another question: Should he stay? Should Prime Minister Stephen Harper give Mr. Flaherty a pass? Here’s how our resident econ profs graded the finance minister over his (nearly) seven and a half years in office.

To view a larger version of the report, please click here (pdf).

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