Will Trump End US Green Investments? And How Should Canada Respond?

Electric car next to a row of charging stations.From: Glen HodgsonTo: Trump watchersDate: January 14, 2025Re: Will Trump End US Green Investments? And How Should Canada Respond? Donald Trump will soon be the next US President. And his tariff and border threats dominate the Canadian policy agenda. Meanwhile, a host of other US economic policies have significant implications for Canada. Energy transition policies are […]

Intelligence Memos: 2024 in Review

To: Our Faithful Readers Date: January 2, 2025 Re: Intelligence Memos: 2024 in Review Intelligence memos are a key way C.D. Howe Institute researchers share their insights about current events. And 2024 had no shortage of material: Canada’s healthcare struggles, housing affordability, the Bank of Canada’s inflation fight, a host of questionable fiscal policies from Ottawa and the […]

The 2024 Year in Review

With 2024 almost behind us, Michael Hainsworth shares some of the CDHI podcast’s most fascinating interviews and policy conversations during the course of a tumultuous year. Featuring: Wilbur Ross, Conrad Black, Martha Hall Findlay, John Baird, John Manley, Jason Kenney, John Tory, Mitzie Hunter, Rosalie Wyonch, Jane Philpott, Michelle Alexopoulos, Jeremy Kronick, Heather Evans, A.J. […]

Graph of the Week: Business Investment Per Worker Falls 23 Percent Below 2014 Peak

Business investment is essential to productivity, wages and Canadians’ living standards. Alarmingly, investment has lagged growth in the workforce for a decade. Another fall in the third quarter of 2024 left real investment per available worker 23 percent below its 2014 peak. A two-month GST “holiday” is the latest example of fiscal policies that boost […]

Public Sector Employment Balloons Compared to Private Sector

Between 2019 and 2023, Canada’s public sector employment grew at more than twice the rate of the private sector, increasing by 13 percent compared to just 5.9 percent. This shift added around half a million public sector jobs, with public administration as the largest contributor, raising the public sector’s share of total employment from 19.7 […]

Charles Eagan – A Path to Trusted AI

From: Charles EaganTo: AI observersDate: November 11, 2024 Re: A Path to Trusted AI Artificial Intelligence (AI) has infiltrated our lives for decades, but since the public launch of ChatGPT showcasing generative AI in 2022, society has faced unprecedented technological evolution.  With digital technology already a constant part of our lives, AI has the potential to […]

Lawrence Herman – Behold dairy lobby’s power, as Bloc holds Liberals hostage over supply management

Published in the Globe and Mail.

There’s something wrong when a narrow interest group can dominate Canadian trade policy. That’s exactly what has happened in the case of the dairy industry, pushing its protectionist agenda on Canadians, not only in getting an ill-considered and self-serving piece of legislation to sail through the House of Commons but in having the Bloc Québécois make final enactment of Bill C-282 a red line for supporting the minority Trudeau government.

Bill C-282 is a Bloc private member’s bill that would exempt the supply managed dairy sector (as well as poultry and eggs) from all future trade negotiations. Even though the bill has already passed the House and is now in the Senate, Bloc Leader Yves-…

Canada’s Productivity Problem with Michelle Alexopoulos and Jeremy Kronick

Since the mid-1980s, US labour productivity has grown by about 100 percent. But in Canada, it’s only grown by roughly 40 percent. Lower productivity means the economy grows more slowly — and that means Canadians’ paychecks grow more slowly as well. Why is Canada less productive? And what can be done about it? Michael Hainsworth […]

Canada’s Productivity Problem with Michelle Alexopoulos and Jeremy Kronick

Since the mid-1980s, US labour productivity has grown by about 100 percent. But in Canada, it’s only grown by roughly 40 percent. Lower productivity means the economy grows more slowly — and that means Canadians’ paychecks grow more slowly as well. 

Why is Canada less productive? And what can be done about it? Michael Hainsworth speaks with the University of Toronto’s Michelle Alexopoulos and the C.D. Howe Institute’s Jeremy Kronick to get answers.

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