Think Tank
Widespread shortages, skyrocketing costs: the growing calamity that is government-controlled child care

Widespread shortages, skyrocketing costs: the growing calamity that is government-controlled child…

In its 2021 fed­er­al bud­get, the Lib­er­al gov­ern­ment intro­duced its nation­al child care plan. It pro­posed up to $30 bil­lion in new spend­ing over five years, and then $9.2 bil­lion annu­al­ly on an ongo­ing basis to estab­lish nation­al…

Budget 2024: A glaring omission in Canada’s health security defenses

Budget 2024: A glaring omission in Canada’s health security defenses

The fed­er­al gov­ern­ment out­lined a num­ber of small steps in pan­dem­ic…

Budget 2024: A major step forward for Indigenous project ownership

Budget 2024: A major step forward for Indigenous project ownership

A doc­u­ment imbued with incre­men­tal­ism offered at least one big ener­gy pol­i­cy…

Improving Access to Food and Essential Needs: Options for a More Generous Cash-Transfer Benefit

Improving Access to Food and Essential Needs: Options for a More Generous Cash-Transfer Benefit

The ongo­ing cost-of-liv­ing cri­sis has high­light­ed the defi­cien­cies in Canada’s…

Dire Straits: Houthi aggression in the Bab al-Mandab Strait

Dire Straits: Houthi aggression in the Bab al-Mandab Strait

Since Novem­ber 2023, Yemen’s Ansar Allah mili­tia – known as the Houthis, after its…

The New Mobility Era: Leveraging Digital Technologies for More Equitable, Efficient and Effective Public Transportation

The New Mobility Era: Leveraging Digital Technologies for More Equitable, Efficient and Effective…

Dig­i­tal tech­nolo­gies have the poten­tial to enhance urban mobil­i­ty to achieve…

What Spending Two Per Cent of GDP on National Defence Means for Canada

    What Spending Two Per Cent of GDP on National Defence Means for Canada

    The authors are grate­ful to numer­ous defence and secu­ri­ty strate­gists includ­ing…



    Success assured? Appraising the Canadian-led Enhanced Forward Presence battlegroup in Latvia

    Success assured? Appraising the Canadian-led Enhanced Forward Presence battlegroup in Latvia

    At the 2016 NATO War­saw Sum­mit, mem­bers announced the for­ma­tion of the enhanced…

    We can’t seem to get things done in Canada anymore: how can we fix it?

    We can’t seem to get things done in Canada anymore: how can we fix it?

    Cana­da faces sig­nif­i­cant chal­lenges includ­ing weak per capi­ta income growth,…

    A Match Made in Heaven: China-Russia Tech Co-operation and Canada’s National Security

    A Match Made in Heaven: China-Russia Tech Co-operation and Canada’s National Security

    For sev­er­al years, tech­no­log­i­cal co-oper­a­tion between Chi­na and Rus­sia has been…

    So Far, So Good: C.D. Howe Institute Business Cycle Council Declares Recession Avoided in 2022, 2023

    So Far, So Good: C.D. Howe Institute Business Cycle Council Declares Recession Avoided in 2022, 2023

    Weak­ness in Cana­di­an GDP since the Bank of Cana­da began rais­ing its pol­i­cy rate in…

    The Size of Government in Canada in 2022

    The Size of Government in Canada in 2022

    This bul­letin mea­sures the size of gov­ern­ment in Cana­da, by province, based on total…

    Mind the Gaps - How Atlantic Canada can keep up the momentum

    Mind the Gaps - How Atlantic Canada can keep up the momentum

    “Why Atlantic Cana­da Remains White and Poor” — that was the blunt and provoca­tive…

    Government As Enabler: Responding to Canada’s Rising Social Woes

    Government As Enabler: Responding to Canada’s Rising Social Woes

    Cana­di­ans are fac­ing ris­ing lone­li­ness and social iso­la­tion. More than two-fifths…

    Trudeau government must change fiscal approach in upcoming budget
    The China Factor in the Evolution of Cross-Strait Relations, 2024 and Onward

      The China Factor in the Evolution of Cross-Strait Relations, 2024 and Onward

      In the com­ing decade, main­land Chi­na can be expect­ed to con­tin­ue affirm­ing,…



      Federal government should appoint expert panel to study what happened during COVID-19 pandemic, says major new report

        Federal government should appoint expert panel to study what happened during COVID-19 pandemic,…

        A major new report calls on the fed­er­al gov­ern­ment to appoint an expert pan­el to…

        The Cost of Business Subsidies in Canada: Updated Edition

        The Cost of Business Subsidies in Canada: Updated Edition

        Busi­ness sub­si­dies deliv­ered through gov­ern­ment spend­ing since 1961 came with…

        Power Plays - How to build a renewable energy future in Atlantic Canada

        Power Plays - How to build a renewable energy future in Atlantic Canada

        With three facil­i­ties in Nova Sco­tia, Miche­lin Cana­da is one of the province’s…

        Conservative criminal justice policy: new directions and alternatives

        Conservative criminal justice policy: new directions and alternatives

        Aim­ing to fill a void in the nation­al con­ver­sa­tion, this paper lays out the key…

        Taiwan’s Pivotal Role in Supply Chains in the Indo-Pacific: Protecting a Global Public Good

        Taiwan’s Pivotal Role in Supply Chains in the Indo-Pacific: Protecting a Global Public Good

        Sup­ply chains have become the key arter­ies of the glob­al econ­o­my. This is…

        B.C.’s day of ‘debt’ reckoning has arrived
        The Canada Pharmacare Act: What do we know, and what do we need to know?

        The Canada Pharmacare Act: What do we know, and what do we need to know?

        Ottawa is buzzing with antic­i­pa­tion of the intro­duc­tion of the Cana­da Phar­ma­care…

        Federal Reforms to Improve Housing Affordability

        Federal Reforms to Improve Housing Affordability

        Few pol­i­cy areas are gain­ing as much atten­tion in Cana­da as hous­ing. This is…

        Business Needs to Help Push Global Trade Referee Back into the Game

        Business Needs to Help Push Global Trade Referee Back into the Game

        The World Trade Orga­ni­za­tion is not top of mind for the busi­ness com­mu­ni­ty. But it…



        Is Canada Trying to Break the Internet?

        The AI rev­o­lu­tion has led coun­tries around the world to grap­ple with what the future…

        The politics of culture wars in contemporary Canada

        The politics of culture wars in contemporary Canada

        “Cul­ture wars” refers to the con­tention between cul­tur­al social­ism –…

        National Pharmacare: Laying the Groundwork

        National Pharmacare: Laying the Groundwork

        Drug cov­er­age in Cana­da is a patch­work of provin­cial, ter­ri­to­r­i­al and…

        When Ottawa caps interest rates, high-risk borrowers don’t get loans

        When Ottawa caps interest rates, high-risk borrowers don’t get loans

        Ottawa has set its sights on rein­ing in preda­to­ry lend­ing rates. Last year it set out…

        Biden's halt on LNG exports presents new opportunity for Canada
        The global resurgence of economic nationalism: A looming threat for Canada

        The global resurgence of economic nationalism: A looming threat for Canada

        A new strain of eco­nom­ic nation­al­ism is reshap­ing poli­cies in the world’s two…

        Hard Things Are Hard: Lessons for Complex Procurement Projects

        Hard Things Are Hard: Lessons for Complex Procurement Projects

        Lost ground can always be regained, lost time nev­er – Franklin D. Roo­sevelt…

        International Control Commissions: Canadian Diplomatic Pioneers in Southeast Asia

        International Control Commissions: Canadian Diplomatic Pioneers in Southeast Asia

        The gov­ern­ment of Cana­da has once again redis­cov­ered South­east Asia. The…

        Canada’s wetlands need to be conserved and restored
        Canada’s justice system at a crossroads - MLI’s Third Justice Report Card

        Canada’s justice system at a crossroads - MLI’s Third Justice Report Card

        The Mac­don­ald-Lau­ri­er Insti­tute just released our third Jus­tice Report Card, which…

        Unlocking Healthcare - How to Free the Flow of Life-Saving Health Data in Canada

        Unlocking Healthcare - How to Free the Flow of Life-Saving Health Data in Canada

        In ear­ly 2023, the Pub­lic Pol­i­cy Forum’s Tak­ing Back Health Care project set out to…

        Canada braces for the possible return of Donald Trump

        Canada braces for the possible return of Donald Trump

        Fol­low­ing the Repub­li­can pri­ma­ry result in New Hamp­shire this week, Cana­da is not…

        Stagnation in Atlantic Canada’s Private Sector: Measuring Progress 2007 to 2019

        Stagnation in Atlantic Canada’s Private Sector: Measuring Progress 2007 to 2019

        The per­for­mance of the pri­vate sec­tor in a province or region is the…

        Military Organizational Change and Emerging Technology: Lessons for Canada

        Military Organizational Change and Emerging Technology: Lessons for Canada

        The Cana­di­an Armed Forces (CAF) are cur­rent­ly react­ing to new threats from…

        Unlocking Indigenous financing: are loan guarantees the answer?

        Unlocking Indigenous financing: are loan guarantees the answer?

        The fed­er­al government’s recent Fall Eco­nom­ic State­ment includ­ed…

        Alberta’s electrical grid is overloaded. Here’s what to know

        Alberta’s electrical grid is overloaded. Here’s what to know

        Record cold led to a string of warn­ings about the province’s maxed-out grid. It’s…

        Trudeau government’s disinterest in entrepreneurship and business investment hurting economy

        Nunavut is reinventing resource assessment