Canada keeps making labour market mistakes by missing recession-era opportunities – Globe and Mail Op-Ed
Two years ago, during a pandemic-induced recession, the unemployment rate was in double-digits and nearly three million workers lost their jobs. Yet for the job market, it seems like ages ago. Canada’s job numbers have bounced back, and with national unemployment rates hovering at all-time lows, we are suddenly confronted (again) with labour and skills shortages.
The inability of employers to find workers with the right skills to fill record-high vacancies is dampening Canada’s economic growth and competitiveness. It also affects health care access and contributes to inflationary pressure, disrupting supply chains and, more broadly, limiting our ability to make headway in raising living standards and in transitioning to a lower…
O’Donnell, Skuterud – Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Data Shortage
From: Ian O’Donnell and Mikal Skuterud To: Canadians Concerned about the Labour Market Date: June 23, 2022 Re: Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Data Shortage Despite repeated policy efforts to curtail employer reliance on temporary foreign workers (TFWs), we estimate that their share of Canadian employment increased more than six-fold since 2000, reaching more than 5 percent by 2019. […] Mahboubi, Irawan – Embracing Population Aging: Staying Young Through Life-Long Learning
To: Canada’s Ministers of Employment From: Parisa Mahboubi and Ivannia Irawan Date: November 3, 2021 Re: Embracing Population Aging: Staying Young Through Life-Long Learning Population aging – accelerated by improvements in life expectancy not least – has been an unpleasant reality for policymakers around the world as working-age populations dwindle and the costs of healthcare […] Eloise Duncan – Financial Resilience Index: a New Tool to Refine Income Support
From: Eloise Duncan To: Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland Date: October 28, 2021 Re: Financial Resilience Index: a New Tool to Refine Income Support Governments were generous and broad in their financial support during the COVID-19 pandemic, but as the economy returns to a normal state – and fiscal positions remain under strain – it is […] Glen Hodgson – Complications Abound in the Pandemic Recovery
From: Glen Hodgson To: Concerned Canadians Date: October 19, 2021 Re: Complications Abound in the Pandemic Recovery The Canadian economy is on the rebound from the pandemic shutdown and most economic forecasters are projecting positive growth into the medium term. This good news story conceals deeper factors that will complicate the recovery and longer-term outlook. The potential for […] Devlin, Rowlands, Mahboubi – Immigration Remains The Key To Housing Prices
To: Canadian real estate watchers From: Ed Devlin, Thomas Rowlands and Parisa Mahboubi Date: August 16, 2021 Re: Immigration remains the key to housing prices Canada’s housing market is among the hottest in the world. The continued strength in the market, despite the pandemic and higher construction costs, has fueled debate around restrictions on housing supply. However, the recent soaring […] Don Drummond – Breathing Life Into The Liberal Government’s Quality Of Life Index
From: Don Drummond To: Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland Date: June 9, 2021 Re: Breathing Life into the Liberal Government’s Quality of Life Index Following the lead of a number of other countries, the Department of Finance and Statistics Canada are engaged in an investigation of and consultations on how to inform policymaking better with information on Canadians’ quality of […] Mahboubi, Maqbool – Canada Will Benefit From Opening Its Border To International Students
From: Parisa Mahboubi and Sana Maqbool To: Canadian Businesses and Governments Date: October 14, 2020 Re: Canada Will Benefit from Opening Its Border to International Students COVID-19 travel restrictions have had a significant impact on Canada’s permanent and temporary immigration. The plan to re-open the border to international students next week will help the recovery in the short-term […] Trevor Tombe – Potential Gains From Provinces Easing Labour Mobility Barriers
From: Trevor Tombe To: Provincial employment ministers Date: June 29, 2020 Re: Potential Gains from Provinces Easing Labour Mobility Barriers Migration is central to Canada’s economic development, especially in the West. International immigration receives significant attention, but interprovincial migration is no less important. In normal times, according to the latest 2016 census data, more than 260,000 Canadians move from […] William B.P. Robson – A Professional Nag Pauses To Reflect
From: William B.P. Robson To: Fellow Canadians Date: January 7, 2020 Re: A Professional Nag Pauses to Reflect We at the C.D. Howe Institute devote much of our daily attention to criticizing poorly conceived and ineptly implemented policy in Canada. As we should. That’s our job. And our governments keep us all too well supplied. When William Watson asked […] A Professional Critic’s Festive Fulmination – Financial Post Op-ed
My colleagues and I at the C.D. Howe Institute devote much of our daily attention to criticizing poorly conceived and ineptly implemented policy in Canada. As we should. That’s our job. And our governments keep us all too well supplied.
On occasion, however, people outside Canada ask us about how Canada ranks as a place to live, work, invest, or locate a business. For me, those questions trigger a happy 180-degree turn. The professional nag steps back and the booster of Canada as one of the world’s most favoured nations takes over. As we welcome 2020 with some thoughts about things we in Canada do well, and should keep doing well, here are three ways we stand out.
First on my list — first on so many people’s lists — is…
Donald Drummond – Ministerial Mandate Letter: Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations
As Canada forms its next government, the Prime Minister’s Office will be preparing ministerial mandate letters. In this special Intelligence Memo series, policy experts highlight key challenges and priorities in each minister’s portfolio. From: Donald Drummond To: The incoming Ministers of Crown‑Indigenous Relations and Indigenous Services Date: October 25, 2019 As you embark as Ministers […]