How Does Your Premier Rank on Spending/Debt? | Jake Fuss

Which provincial premiers are managing taxpayers’ money the best — and who ranks at the bottom? A new study from the Fraser Institute evaluates the fiscal performance of Canada’s premiers, measuring government spending, taxes, and deficits. Jake Fuss, Director of Fiscal Studies and author of “Measuring the Fiscal Performance of Canada’s Premiers,” breaks down how the rankings were calculated, which leaders scored highest, and what the results mean for taxpayers. Is lower spending linked to stronger economic growth? Do lower taxes correlate with better GDP performance? And how does Alberta’s Danielle Smith stack up against her provincial counterparts?

Aired: Feb 12, 2026

Jeannette Rocher

Born in Puerto Rico, raised in Minnesota and Manitoba, Jeannette has had the opportunity to live in a variety of places including New York, Arizona, and Nevada. After completing college and a paid internship with CBC Winnipeg, Jeannette embarked on her journalism career by moving overseas to take a job on the island of Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands. While overseas she covered stories in Fiji, Guam and Japan including the 2011 tsunami that hit Japan and its surrounding islands. She covered a mass shooting, an Earth quake, murder cases and other substantial court cases. In 2013 she moved to Alberta where she covered the devastating floods of High River and Medicine Hat for CTV News. She then went on to produce and host Go! Southern Alberta for Shaw TV. She now calls Miracle Channel home. In addition to reporting in the field, you can catch her anchoring daily weather reports, as well as longer interview segments on BCN, and the week-in-review show on BCN Weekends. 

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