Conservative premiers lead economic performance, Liberal and NDP last

A new report finds Canada's top premiers for financial management lost elections last year, leaving Danielle Smith as the best one still standing.

"Measuring the Fiscal Performance of Canada’s Premiers, 2025" by the Fraser Institute assesses the relative fiscal performance of Canadian premiers (eight current and two former) based on government spending, taxes, and debt and deficits up to fiscal year 2023/24.

Overall, the premiers ranked (of 10) and scored (of 100), as follows (* indicates former premier).

• 1st Blaine Higgs,* NB (71.5)

• 2nd Heather Stefanson,* MB (64.3)

• 3rd Danielle Smith, AB (63.7)

• 4th Doug Ford, ON (59.7)

• 5th Dennis King, PE (56.2)

• 6th Tim Houston, NS (55.7)

• 7th Scott Moe, SK (54.2)

• 8th François Legault, QC (54.0)

• 9th David Eby, BC (54.0)

• 10th Andrew Furey, NL (34.9)

"Premiers across the country have an important role to play in ensuring the continuous improvement of Canadians’ economic well-being," wrote authors Jake Fuss and Callum MacLeod.

"While premiers that fared well should be commended, all premiers have room for improvement and should look to restrain spending, balance their budgets, and establish a more competitive provincial tax system."

In regards to government spending, Eby ranked highest (with a score of 95.5) ahead of Stefanson (85.4) and Ford (72.8). Meanwhile, four premiers failed to achieve a score above 50: King (47.6), Houston (42.3), Legault (33.3), and Smith (10.9).

Legault and Moe saw the highest growth in program spending relative to inflation plus population growth (3.0 percentage point difference).

For taxes, Smith led the pack by some margin (with a score of 80.2). Meanwhile, Atlantic premiers besides Premier Higgs scored the lowest: King (37.5), Houston (36.9), and Furey (35.0).

Alberta has the best personal income tax rates in Canada. Furey created three new tax brackets that dramatically increased the effective rate for high earners, from 18.3% at the start of his tenure to 21.8% in 2023. Meanwhile, Houston’s government does not index their income brackets to inflation.

On corporate income taxes, Quebec Premier François Legault ranked first with a score of 83.1. Legault was closely followed by Smith of Alberta, who scored 77.9. Legault was the only premier to preside over a decrease to the corporate income tax rate, Quebec’s high rate in 2023/24 compared with Alberta makes for a close score.

On debt and deficits, Smith again ranked highest (scoring 100.0) followed by Premier Higgs (99.6). However, three premiers failed to achieve a score above 50: Stefanson (44.7), Furey (14.5), and Eby (3.1).