Health care will cost a typical Canadian family more than $21,000 this year

Study: The Price of Public Health Care Insurance, 2026

• Canadians often misunderstand the true cost of our public health care system. This occurs partly because Canadians do not incur direct expenses for their use of health care, and partly because Canadians cannot readily determine the value of their contribution to public health care insurance.
• In 2026, preliminary estimates suggest the average payment for public health care insurance ranges from $6,464 to $21,115 for six common Canadian family types, depending on the type of family.
• Between 1997 and 2026, the cost of public health care insurance for the average Canadian family increased 2.3 times as fast as the cost of food, 1.7 times as fast as the average income, and 1.5 times as fast as the cost of shelter. It also increased much more rapidly than the average cost of clothing, which has fallen in recent years.
• The 10 percent of Canadian families with the lowest incomes will pay an average of about $637 for public health care insurance in 2026. The 10 percent of Canadian families who earn an average income of $88,572 will pay an average of $8,644 for public health care insurance, and the families among the top 10 percent of income earners in Canada will pay $66,350.

Read the Study: fraserinstitute.org/studies/price-public-health-care-insurance-2026

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Canadian families spend 42% of their income on taxes—more than on basic necessities

Study: Taxes versus the Necessities of Life: The Canadian Consumer Tax Index, 2026 Edition

• The Canadian Consumer Tax Index tracks the total tax bill of the average Canadian family from 1961 to 2025. Including all types of taxes, that bill has increased by 2,928% since 1961.
• Taxes have grown much more rapidly than any other single expenditure for the average Canadian family: expenditures on shelter increased by 2,349%, food by 952%, and clothing by 526% from 1961 to 2025.
• The 2,928% increase in the tax bill has also greatly outpaced the increase in the Consumer Price Index (946%), which measures the average price that consumers pay for food, shelter, clothing, transportation, health and personal care, education, and other items.
• The average Canadian family now spends more of its income on taxes (41.9%) than it does on basic necessities such as food, shelter, and clothing combined (36.0%). By comparison, 33.5% of the average family’s income went to pay taxes in 1961 while 56.5% went to basic necessities.
• In 2025, the average Canadian family earned an income of $121,111 and paid total taxes equaling $50,721 (41.9%). In 1961, the average family had an income of $5,000 and paid a total tax bill of $1,675 (33.5%).

Read the Study: fraserinstitute.org/studies/taxes-versus-necessities-life-canadian-consumer-tax-index-2026-edition

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Government corporate welfare soared 142% between 2019 and 2024, reaching $87.7 billion in 2024

Study: Eliminating Corporate Subsidies in Canada: An Opportunity to Boost Growth

• Though widely used in Canada, economic literature suggests corporate subsidies are a wasteful use of taxpayer dollars that do not boost economic growth.
• Subsidies are often unfair to businesses that do not receive them, and substitute the government’s judgment for consumers’ judgment, rewarding firms that create value for politicians rather than those that create value for consumers.
• Federal and provincial spending on corporate subsidies has increased substantially over time, with a marked increase beginning in 2015. Between 2007 and 2015, spending on subsidies increased from $22.2 billion to $25.1 billion (inflation-adjusted), or 12.8 percent. From 2015 until 2019, spending increased more rapidly, such that the 2019 level was 44.2 percent more than in 2015. After the pandemic, spending on corporate subsidies increased in 2022, 2023, and 2024. The inflation-adjusted level of spending in 2024 stood at $87.7 billion, more than triple the level observed in 2015.
• Even when accounting for both inflation and population, spending on subsidies has increased in every province and at the federal level between 2015 and 2024.
• The increased spending on corporate subsidies has occurred in Canada during a period of economic stagnation and renewed interest in policies that can drive economic growth.
• Governments in Canada have an opportunity to substantially boost economic growth by eliminating corporate subsidies and directing the savings to broad-based business tax relief.

Read the Study: fraserinstitute.org/studies/eliminating-corporate-subsidies-canada-opportunity-boost-growth