Business investment in Canada has been so weak since 2015 that capital per member of the workforce is falling, undermining growth in labour productivity and compensation. The longstanding gap between investment per available worker in Canada and other OECD countries narrowed from the late 1990s through the early 2010s, but has since widened, especially relative […]
December 4, 2025 – Trade tensions, regulation and growth-stifling taxes are depressing business investment in Canada, undercutting productivity growth and workers’ incomes, according to a new C.D. Howe Institute report. The report notes that the US is far more robust, hurting Canadian competitiveness and threatening to widen the gap between US and Canadian living standards. […]
From: Michael WernickTo: Public service observers Date: November 19, 2025Re: The Deadweight of Dogma on Public Service Reform Too much discussion of the state, or government, or the public sector, treats it as a monolith. It is treated like the equations you see in first year economics, with no further unpacking. Moreover, much of the commentary […]
November 3, 2025 – For some parents and seniors, taking a second income, working more or drawing extra pension income can mean losing most of every extra dollar of income to taxes and benefit clawbacks. This can significantly weaken incentives to work or save, according to a C.D. Howe Institute report. In “The Clawback Trap: […]
The Clawback Trap: How Canada’s Benefit System Can Undermine Work and Saving by Alexandre Laurin and Nicholas Dahir Clawbacks of government benefits can create high marginal effective tax rates (METRs) on extra income, or high participation tax rates (PTRs) on prospective income from taking on a job, that have a negative impact on work incentives […]
From: Parisa MahboubiTo: Immigration observersDate: October 8, 2025Re: Immigration Reform Begins with Simplifying the System Canada’s immigration policy has lost its way. Once a model for attracting skilled newcomers who drove growth and innovation, the system is now consumed with chasing numeric targets and competing objectives. The result is a complex web of programs that undermine wage […]
Published in Financial Post. Last week, the federal government ordered Canada Post to develop a transformation plan to put itself on a financially sustainable footing. It gave the Crown corporation a green light to trim and modernize its network, end most door-to-door delivery, expand community mailboxes and reduce delivery frequency and speed for non-priority items. […]
From: David R. JohnsonTo: Ontarians Concerned About EducationDate: September 19, 2025Re: A Better Way to Measure School Performance There is a great deal of variation in Ontario school performance as measured by the assessments of literacy and numeracy administered by the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) at the end of Grade 3 and the […]
Second Meeting of the C.D. Howe Institute Immigration Targets Council The C.D. Howe Institute Immigration Targets Council held its second meeting on August 26, 2025, bringing together leading academics and policy experts to provide recommendations on Canada’s immigration-level targets and system design. Members agreed that Canada’s immigration policy has moved in the wrong direction and […]
September 16, 2025 – Canada’s immigration policy continues to move in the wrong direction and requires a fundamental course correction, according to a new Communiqué from the C.D. Howe Institute’s Immigration Targets Council. In “Immigration Policy Still in Need of a Course Correction,” the Council – composed of leading academics and policy experts – stresses […]
Housing availability and affordability pose a notable barrier to recruitment in Canada, with about one in five businesses reporting “large or moderate” difficulties in the past year. The challenge varies across regions: businesses in the territories are most affected, while high-cost provinces like BC and Ontario also struggle. These constraints discourage workers from relocating, resulting in […]
The C.D. Howe Institute Immigration Targets Council is comprised of leading academics and policy experts who provide independent recommendations on Canada’s immigration-level targets and the design of its selection system. Meeting annually ahead of the federal government’s November 1st release of its Immigration Levels Plan, the Council reviews demographic, labour market, and policy considerations to […]
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Business investment in Canada has been so weak since 2015 that capital per member of the workforce is falling, undermining growth in labour productivity and compensation. The longstanding gap between investment per available worker in Canada and other OECD countries narrowed from the late 1990s through the early 2010s, but has since widened, especially relative […] 
From: Michael WernickTo: Public service observers Date: November 19, 2025Re: The Deadweight of Dogma on Public Service Reform Too much discussion of the state, or government, or the public sector, treats it as a monolith. It is treated like the equations you see in first year economics, with no further unpacking. Moreover, much of the commentary […] 
November 3, 2025 – For some parents and seniors, taking a second income, working more or drawing extra pension income can mean losing most of every extra dollar of income to taxes and benefit clawbacks. This can significantly weaken incentives to work or save, according to a C.D. Howe Institute report. In “The Clawback Trap: […] 
From: Parisa MahboubiTo: Immigration observersDate: October 8, 2025Re: Immigration Reform Begins with Simplifying the System Canada’s immigration policy has lost its way. Once a model for attracting skilled newcomers who drove growth and innovation, the system is now consumed with chasing numeric targets and competing objectives. The result is a complex web of programs that undermine wage […] 
Published in Financial Post. Last week, the federal government ordered Canada Post to develop a transformation plan to put itself on a financially sustainable footing. It gave the Crown corporation a green light to trim and modernize its network, end most door-to-door delivery, expand community mailboxes and reduce delivery frequency and speed for non-priority items. […] 
From: David R. JohnsonTo: Ontarians Concerned About EducationDate: September 19, 2025Re: A Better Way to Measure School Performance There is a great deal of variation in Ontario school performance as measured by the assessments of literacy and numeracy administered by the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) at the end of Grade 3 and the […] 
Second Meeting of the C.D. Howe Institute Immigration Targets Council The C.D. Howe Institute Immigration Targets Council held its second meeting on August 26, 2025, bringing together leading academics and policy experts to provide recommendations on Canada’s immigration-level targets and system design. Members agreed that Canada’s immigration policy has moved in the wrong direction and […] 
Housing availability and affordability pose a notable barrier to recruitment in Canada, with about one in five businesses reporting “large or moderate” difficulties in the past year. The challenge varies across regions: businesses in the territories are most affected, while high-cost provinces like BC and Ontario also struggle. These constraints discourage workers from relocating, resulting in […] 
The C.D. Howe Institute Immigration Targets Council is comprised of leading academics and policy experts who provide independent recommendations on Canada’s immigration-level targets and the design of its selection system. Meeting annually ahead of the federal government’s November 1st release of its Immigration Levels Plan, the Council reviews demographic, labour market, and policy considerations to […]