This article is republished with thanks to the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA). It originally appeared in its publication The Monitor.

In 2020, front-page stories on the Ontario budget were all about spending—huge, huge spending to combat COVID-19. Now, as 2021 wraps up, rising provincial revenues are getting their time in the spotlight.

Back in March, Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy tabled a 2021-22 budget that projected only a slight improvement in revenue over last year. By the time of his Nov. 4 fiscal update, though, the minister was seeing a revenue increase that was nearly 10% higher than his earlier prediction. Money was pouring into provincial coffers. Suddenly, the minister had $14.6 billion he hadn’t banked on.

As it turns out, massive federal spending to shore up the economy was not only good for people and businesses; it was also very good for provincial tax revenues.