Tingting Zhang – Let’s Embrace a Golden Age for Career Guidance
To: Labour Force Observers From: Tingting Zhang Date: July 13, 2023 Re: Let’s Embrace a Golden Age for Career Guidance As digital technology and the green transition sweep through Canada’s labour market, career navigation becomes increasingly complex and increasingly important to help both employed and unemployed people. This makes the availability and quality of career guidance services, which aim […]G. Kent Fellows – New Automaker Subsidies are Unwise and Inflationary
From: G. Kent Fellows To: Concerned Canadians Date: June 1, 2023 Re: New Automaker Subsidies are Unwise and Inflationary Following the federal Government’s announcement of $700 million in construction subsidies and up to $14 billion in production subsidies to attract a Volkswagen battery plant to Ontario, automaker Stellantis has demanded a similar deal. Stellantis had already begun building […]Bafale, Robson – The Sorry Sag in Business Investment
From: Mawakina Bafale and William B.P. Robson To: Canadian Workers Date: March 28, 2023 Re: The Sorry Sag in Business Investment A core message in former federal finance minister Bill Morneau’s 2022 book, Where To from Here? is that Canada needs faster economic growth, which requires higher business investment. If Canadian living standards fail to keep pace with those abroad, […]Fallout from Silicon Valley Bank with Peter Hall
What does the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in California mean for Canada? In episode five of the C.D. Howe Institute Podcast, Elevate Export Finance’s Peter Hall tells host Michael Hainsworth that SVB can learn a lot from our financial expertise, and that Canadian banks may benefit from the need for capital in Silicon Valley.
Jeremy M. Kronick – Five Policies to Scale our SMEs
From: Jeremy M. Kronick To: Canada’s Governments Date: March 20, 2023 Re: Five Policies to Scale our SMEs These days, it often feels like we don’t agree on much. But higher income growth is one thing all Canadians should be able to support. One way to achieve this growth is to see young businesses grow into large ones. While […] Glen Hodgson – How Should Canada Respond to the US Inflation Reduction Act?
From: Glen Hodgson To: Canadians Interested in Economic Competitiveness Date: January 31, 2023 Re: How Should Canada Respond to the US Inflation Reduction Act? The reality of climate change and the imperative to reduce GHG emissions is now being addressed by policymakers in many countries, most notably in new comprehensive US legislation. The Inflation Reduction Act […] Sabrina T. Howell – Evidence on SME Financing from the Cutting Edge of Economic Research
To: Canadian Innovation Policymakers From: Sabrina T. Howell Date: January 16, 2023 Re: Evidence on SME Financing from the Cutting Edge of Economic Research Governments around the world have numerous programs to provide funding for small and medium-sized enterprises. There are some important lessons they can draw from recent US economic research. The US Small […] Reshoring is a poor long-term strategy for sustainable growth – The Hub Op-Ed
On November 22, 2022, as part of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce’s Ontario Economic Summit, The Hub’s executive director Rudyard Griffiths moderated a “Munk-style” debate involving Globe and Mail columnist Andrew Coyne, C.D. Howe Institute CEO Bill Robson, former Ontario Cabinet minister Sandra Pupatello, and The Hub’s own editor-at-large Sean Speer. The debate’s resolution read: Be It Resolved: Ontario Needs Reshoring as Part of Its Growth Agenda. Pupatello and Speer argued in favour of the motion. Coyne and Robson against it.
Thanks to the organizers for inviting us here to debate this very important question. Our worthy opponents, Sandra and Sean, make a very valiant case in favour of reshoring as part of Ontario’s growth…
S4 E16: SME Challenges with Michael Denham
Canada’s small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) face numerous challenges to scaling-up to compete on the world stage. There are ways to remove those barriers to financing and deepen capital markets. Michael Denham, National Bank of Canada’s Vice Chair of Commercial and Financial Markets, tells C.D. Howe Institute Podcast Host Michael Hainsworth that there are three key hurdles to overcome.
Kronick, Bafale – Unpacking Canada’s Persistent SME Growth Problem
To: Canada’s Policymakers From: Jeremy M. Kronick and Mawakina Bafale Date: September 13, 2022 Re: Unpacking Canada’s Persistent SME Growth Problem Only 2 percent of mid-sized Canadians firms grow into large companies with more than 500 employees, according to a 2016 Business Development Bank study. More recent data suggests that number has not budged. Alongside weak firm growth, there […] Canada’s Small Enterprises Hampered by Costly Financing
In this edition of Graphic Intelligence, we compare Canada’s lending conditions for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to that of a set of OECD countries we are often measured against. Canadian small and medium businesses pay a premium for financing relative to SMEs in other OECD countries. Canada’s SMEs face numerous challenges that impede their ability to scale up. […] John Lester – R&D Tax Credit Review Needs to Focus on the Right Issues
To: The Hon. Chrystia Freeland, Minister of Finance From: John Lester Date: August 24, 2022 Re: R&D Tax Credit Review Needs to Focus on the Right Issues Canada is not keeping up in the global competition for innovation-led growth and prosperity. Our research and development intensity is low relative to other countries and not enough of our inventions […]