Canada Can’t Afford to Wait for Open Banking

From: Harvey NaglieTo: Banking observersDate: July 29, 2025Re: Canada Can’t Afford to Wait for Open Banking Canada is at risk of becoming the last G7 nation to implement open banking. The federal government has announced a launch target of early 2026. While this commitment is welcome, the timeline is far too slow – and the […]

What Drives Innovation? Lessons from Canadian Firms

July 24, 2025 – Canadian firms that actively work to tackle innovation barriers, such as financial constraints or skills shortages, are significantly more likely to innovate than those that don’t act, according to a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Unleashing Innovation: Barriers, Government Support Programs, and What Works Best,” Catherine Beaudry shows […]

Quels sont les moteurs de l’innovation ? Les leçons apprises des entreprises canadiennes

24 juillet 2025 – Selon un nouveau rapport de l’Institut C.D. Howe, les entreprises canadiennes qui s’efforcent activement de surmonter les obstacles à l’innovation, tels que les contraintes financières ou le manque de compétences, sont beaucoup plus susceptibles d’innover que celles qui n’agissent pas. Dans « Unleashing Innovation: Barriers, Government Support Programs, and What Works Best », […]

More to do: Lagging the United States severely from 2000 to 2010, Canada’s manufacturing productivity growth has caught up partially since then.

US manufacturing productivity growth has been dismal since the “Great Recession” of 2007-09, with the reasons why a mystery. During that time, growth in Canada’s manufacturing productivity has been on the rise, easily outpacing that of the United States. That’s the good news. However, the gap measured over a longer period remains and we will have to do better to attract manufacturing investments […]

Canada Needs a New Economic Game Plan

April 4, 2025 – Canada is facing threats to its economic security and territorial integrity from the US. Responding to these threats is job one, but Canada’s next government must not lose sight of the need to strengthen its economy, according to a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “An Economic Strategy for […]

An Economic Strategy for Canada’s Next Government

Canada is facing threats, and responding to them is job one. But our next government must not lose sight of the longer-term need to reduce our dependence on the US, raise our prosperity, to defend our sovereignty, and put Canada’s debt on a sustainable path.

Let’s Not Let This Crisis Go to Waste

From: Catherine BeaudryTo: Concerned Canadians Date: April 3, 2025Re: Let’s Not Let This Crisis Go to Waste Faced with people who constantly threaten others, my father used to say: bien faire et laisser braire, which literally translates as “do a good job and let them bray.” Wartime Britain’s “keep calm and carry on,” now so popular, is another version. […]

Uncertainty Skyrockets as Small Business Confidence Craters

Canada’s Economic Policy Uncertainty Index has skyrocketed 400 percent since September, hitting an all-time high in February 2025. This unprecedented level of uncertainty coincides with plummeting business confidence, with 59 percent of small businesses expecting somewhat or much weaker performance by this time next year. Given Canada’s poor track record on business investment, this sharp collapse in business confidence underscores the urgent need to prioritize policies that will encourage business optimism, investment, and growth.

We Have More Workers. Now We Have to Invest in Them

From: Parisa Mahboubi and Tingting ZhangTo: Canadian economic observersDate: March 26, 2025Re: We Have More Workers. Now We Have to Invest in Them As trade tensions with the United States escalate, putting tens of thousands of Canadian jobs at risk, our home-grown productivity problem continues to erode the country’s economic strength. Without a change of strategy, Canada faces […]

Trump Tariffs? Let’s Not Get Angry; Let’s Innovate

Published in The Gazette. Faced with people who constantly threaten others, my father used to say: bien faire et laisser braire, which literally translates as “do a good job and let them bray.” The old British wartime directive “keep calm and carry on,” now so popular, would be the equivalent today. We should heed this […]

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