Multi-employer, contingent-benefit pension plans cover hundreds of thousands of current and former employees of Canadian governments, and millions more in Canada’s broader public sector – employers such as hospitals, school boards, and colleges. Understanding the value of these plans’...

The recent pandemic has highlighted just how economically interdependent Canadians are with one another, and the extent of the nation’s intertwined domestic supply chains. As the economy re-opens, and with global protectionism looming, interprovincial trade barriers take on heightened...

Banking is the bedrock supporting all other Canadian industries. Without a robust, healthy banking industry, liquidity and investment in other industries will dry up. Stability is therefore a key pillar of financial sector policy. Regulatory barriers to entry have to a significant degree...

Over the past several years, the federal government has consulted widely in formulating new rules for the regulation of brand-name drug prices through the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB) and a long-delayed set of rules that are expected to result in large price reductions, now...

Green bonds have become a fixture on global capital markets since they were first introduced in 2007. International development banks have been present in the green bond space from the outset and have been joined by governments, state enterprises, business enterprises, and financial institutions...

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bank of Canada has cut the overnight rate to 0.25 percent, the threshold it sees as the lower bound for its main policy instrument. At the lower bound, the Bank can no longer use its most direct tool to influence economic activity. The federal government...

This study considers the issue of Crown corporation governance and whether there is an “optimal” or best approach. The annual commercial operations of Canada’s Crown corporations are equivalent to over 7 percent of Canadian GDP, yet there has been surprisingly little over-arching research...

The Federal Government’s spending and borrowing cushioned the impact of COVID-19 on Canada’s economy, but have put national finances on an unsustainable path. The upcoming budget must make tough choices to put Canada on a path back to fiscal stability. As the health crisis abates, Canada...

Accessible and affordable childcare will play an oversized role in determining whether parents, primarily mothers, can return to their pre-COVID trajectories of employment and wages. That matters because growth in family income during the ’80s and ’90s came largely from rising female labour...

When the final accounting is done, federal debt is likely to be about $550 billion higher because of pandemic-related lockdowns in Canada and other countries. Most of the current discussion around the additional debt focusses on its sustainability – whether the debt can be rolled over...