Politics

Past Event

Past Event

As the current federal government endeavours to be the first to act materially on the promise of child care for all, questions of quality, affordability, accessibility and inclusion will stand in line behind jurisdictional bargaining.

Today's bi-lateral Canada-U.S. relationship finds itself being tested like never before. There have been clear signals of a return to normal, but is that a realistic expectation in the wake of the Trump presidency and the deep divisions evident in U.S. society? The Public Policy Forum in partnership with Global Affairs Canada, assembled a roundtable of Canadian and American foreign-policy experts and several points of consensus emerged.

As we move toward rebuilding our economy, policymakers should consider the success of the Atlantic Immigration Pilot as a model for regionally focused population and economic growth, especially in smaller cities and rural communities – likely to be hardest hit by the COVID-19 reduction in immigration.

Our institutions must build uncertainty into policy-making and program design. This “uncertainty screen” will help ensure a vision of the future that reflects today’s uniquely complex environment.

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.

The pandemic is a financial crisis like none in recent years and governments now face the challenge of promoting economic growth and investment and getting people back to work, while also protecting the vulnerable and addressing ballooning debt and deficits. It’s time to use a scalpel, rather than a sledgehammer, to reduce spending by reconsidering the size and compensation levels in the public sector, reviewing the defined benefit pension programs and restructuring where possible.

Canada’s relationship has deteriorated since Canada arrested Huawei’s Meng Wanzhou and China retaliated by arresting Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor. The Trudeau government has weighed the costs of human rights advocacy from an increasingly repressive China against commercial interest with the world’s second-biggest economy. It’s led to a stalemate of sorts, but there are some actions Canada could take.

As a presidential election looms in the United States, Canada is facing three possible scenarios for its outcome. Trade with the U.S. remains largely as healthy as it was 30 years ago, but that could change as the country’s neighbour to the south looks inward. To combat this, Canada must continue to diversify while also trading south.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a fiscal conundrum for governments: How can they dig themselves out of debt in a manner that protects the financial futures of younger generations? Governments should opt for a mix of fiscal strategies that favour smart tax increases.

Today’s media systems include the powerful social media companies that watch, commodify, and manipulate us as they buy and sell our data. Mike Ananny urges a more sophisticated understanding of the privately controlled infrastructures where important decisions are made shaping behaviours, beliefs and online news. These might look like boring, messy, technical places where only engineers work, but regulators need to grasp their complexities and tackle the prevailing secrecy to better protect the public interest.

In a message to the PPF community, our President & CEO Edward Greenspon addresses how PPF is re-calibrating and conceiving of new forms of digital engagement.