Culture

Canada’s parliamentary system means we vote for local representatives — so what happens during a federal election when the local news prism fades away?

In our second year, we again invited Canadians to volunteer to advise the Commission on Democratic Expression as well as the federal government on the regulation of digital platforms. In the midst of a pandemic, more than 600 Canadians volunteered to serve and 42 were randomly selected to represent the provinces and territories.

How can we create a vibrant digital public sphere that doesn’t by design expose people to an ocean of baser instincts — much less to hatred and abuse? The Citizens’ Assembly on Democratic Expression explores the question of online harms, as Canadians spend more and more time on the Internet, particularly in the COVID-19 pandemic. These 42 members, randomly selected from a pool of volunteers, who we hope represent the widest possible range of voices and perspectives, come together to provide 33 recommendations that balance the harms of misuse of technology with freedom of speech.

Employers across Atlantic Canada are facing skills shortages and are turning to newcomers to fill job vacancies. Yet retention in the region remains a problem, and many immigrants who relocate elsewhere in Canada report employment as a leading cause for their decision to move away. A consultation with local business leaders, business council representatives, educators and immigrant workers provided insights into challenges and policy opportunities.

Newfoundland and Labrador's labour force is shrinking — not to mention population — and once again more people are leaving the province than arriving. PPF developed recommendations to upskill existing workers and bring in new workers at a St. John’s consultation with leaders in government, civil society, immigration, education institutions and business as part of our Atlantic Revitalization project.

by Jasmine Gill

Relations with the United States have been challenging for Canada in recent years. It’s become clear that Canada needs to move beyond its traditional trade-of-goods narrative with the U.S. and focus on factors that will be most important for its diplomatic assets in the coming years, namely culture and technology.

COVID-19 has taken a high toll on film and television in Canada. To support a once-thriving industry, governments need to improve financial security for production companies and ensure a steady flow of business across the Canada-US border. Governments must also modernize regulations for industry success in the digital age.

What will it take to steward digital development and support workers and the broader public as we transition to a more automated future? Emerging leaders from the Banff Forum say the underlying principles we follow – and insist on – may make all the difference.

Over the past year, PPF's Prime Ministers of Canada Fellow, Sean Speer has been exploring urban and rural differences in Canada and how policymakers, business and community leaders, and the public can work to bridge the growing cultural, political and socio-economic characteristics of the urban-rural divide.

PPF’s 2019 Prime Ministers of Canada Fellow Sean Speer to study urban-rural divide.

In an upcoming report for PPF’s Brave New Work project, Peter Loewen and Benjamin Allen Stevens find a correlation between Canadians’ fear of job losses from automation and populist and nativist views—but also that they favour traditional government policy approaches to job disruption, such as retraining, more than radical measures such as reducing immigration.

In the fourth edition of our Atlantic Immigration & Revitalization Newsletter, PPF and research associate Kelly Toughill explore the challenges that rural areas face when attracting and retaining newcomers and the barriers that newcomers face when living in small communities.