Futureproofing Canada

Childcare has been entering and exiting the Canadian political agenda since the Royal Commission on the Status of Women in 1970. Now, Canada is entering a new period on child-care policy. In this episode of In/Equality, host Debra Thompson speaks with Adrienne Davidson, Assistant Professor of Political Science at McMaster University. Beginning with subsidies and nonprofit daycares, this conversati...

Canada has seen major changes in social housing policy since the 1990s. How has this shift impacted homelessness? In this episode of In/Equality, host Debra Thompson speaks with Alison Smith, Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Toronto and the author of Multiple Barriers: The Multilevel Governance of Homelessness in Canada. Homelessness is a constant discussion in major c...

Economic inequality in Canada and other developed countries has been rising since the 1980s. Along with this trend, Canada has seen a withering of redistributive policies and major changes in the way we talk about poverty. In this episode of In/Equality, host Debra Thompson speaks with Keith Banting, Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Queen’s University. The conversation explores how inequ...

Black Canadians are more likely to be targeted by police for stop and search, and more likely to be incarcerated. In this episode of In/Equality, host Debra Thompson speaks with Akwasi Owusu-Bempah, Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Toronto, where he is a leading scholar of race and Canada’s criminal justice system. How does racial data get collected in Canada? What does it rev...

Welcome to In/Equality! In this new series from the Policy Options Podcast, we explore various aspects of inequality with experts from political science, criminology, history, and other disciplines. We will hear from researchers about the latest research on economic inequality, racial inequality, disability justice, rural-urban divides, and more. In this first episode, IRPP President and CEO Jenni...

In this episode, our series on federalism turns to one of the most contentious issues in Canada these days: healthcare. We go back to first principles to understand how federalism influences the way we approach healthcare in Canada. We also ask what makes an effective healthcare system? And how does federalism complicate or help that dynamic? What are the different roles of each level of governmen...

How do municipalities fit into Canada’s federal structure? How do cities manage policy aims with limited revenue-raising powers. On this episode of the podcast, we explore the relationship between municipal and federal, provincial and territorial governments. Moderated by Tomas Hachard, independent researcher, author and former manager programmes and research for the Institute on Municipal Finance...

This episode of the podcast explores how federalism interacts with Indigenous governance. Moderated by Danielle White, Assistant Deputy Minister of Strategic Policy and Partnerships and ISC Evaluation, the conversation features Darcy Gray, Former Chief of Listuguj Mi’gmaq First Nation, Catherine MacQuarrie, Fellow at Carleton University’s School of Public Policy & Administration, and Martin Papill...

The federal government is expected to announce major changes to the Employment Insurance system – the first major update since the 1990s. The IRPP released a report and a set of policy recommendations on how Canada should reform the EI system. In this episode of the podcast, IRPP Digital Engagement Officer Nesi Altaras speaks to our lead researchers on the topic Rachel Samson (Vice President of Re...

Building and maintaining infrastructure requires lots of funds, and often, it’s not clear who will be responsible. It’s a classic problem in federalism: who will fund what? This episode of the podcast explores how the structural characteristics of federalism impact Canada’s economic development and infrastructure. We’ll look at topics like the funding of infrastructure, how to manage regional comp...

What does it mean to be a status Indian in Canada? Douglas Sanderson (Amo Binashii), a professor at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law and a member of the Opaskwayak Cree Nation, answered this seemingly straightforward question in his keynote speech at our 50th anniversary gala. Explaining the processes of losing and gaining status in his family and the policies made to disempower Indigenous...

Debates around fiscal arrangements are always at the heart of federal-provincial relations in Canada. These days, health care funding and the Canada Health Transfer are even front-page news. Just a few months ago, equalization and Alberta’s demand for a fair deal that were making waves. In this episode, we do a deep dive into fiscal federalism: the current state of it, its history and how we got h...

Countries around the world are increasing their ambition on climate policy, and low-carbon technologies across a range of sectors are reaching maturity. This is creating the conditions for rapid change in the energy system and, as a major producer and exporter, Canada will be particularly impacted. Policy-makers must prepare for a period of volatility, as systems make the necessary transformation...

Tensions within a federation are a frequent, normal occurrence. In Canada, one only has to think about recurrent debates over health care funding to equalization payments. But recently, Canadian federalism has been experiencing more tension than usual. Alberta’s new premier is proposing a Sovereignty Act, Saskatchewan’s premier expressed a desire for his province to be ‘a nation within a nation’,...

Adult education provides skills development opportunities to help Canadians find better jobs and improve well-being. Yet it remains a “poor cousin” of compulsory and higher education, disconnected from social policy and the education system at large, with its learners and teachers stigmatized. In this episode of the PO Podcast, UBC Education Professor Jude Walker speaks with the IRPP's Cléa Desjar...

In June 2022, we organized a special lecture at the McCord Museum in Montreal. This is a recording of the lecture Queen’s University Professor Emeritus Keith Banting and McGill University Professor Debra Thompson delivered. They explore why Canada’s robust welfare state – which includes universal health care and myriad employment and training programs – as well as a race-neutral immigration select...

In this special crossover episode with the Humans, on Rights podcast, Policy Options copyeditor and contributor Shannon Sampert, a political analyst and media specialist, speaks to host Stuart Murray about her career in journalism and the intersections of media, politics, and gender. From covering high school sports as a teenager to critiquing reporting on sexual assault cases, she shares her expe...

For the 50th anniversary of the IRPP, we are exploring the biggest public policy challenges facing Canada through a series of panel discussions held at some of Canada’s major policy schools. This episode is a recording of our discussion on political polarization held March 30, 2022, in collaboration with the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. We ask if polariz...

As Russia’s attack on Ukraine carries on, nearly two-thirds of Ukrainian children have fled their homes. 2 million have gone to other countries while 2.8 million are internally displaced, and dozens have been killed or injured. The war also disrupted crop production and shipment from Ukraine and Russia, the largest exporters of wheat, putting millions more children around the world at risk of hung...

L’IRPP célèbre son 50e anniversaire en s’associant aux principales écoles de politiques publiques du pays pour une série de tables rondes, intitulée « Sur le radar des priorités politiques », qui nous aideront à identifier les prochains défis qui occuperont nos décideurs. Cet épisode du balado d’Options politiques porte sur l’impact de la pandémie de COVID-19 sur les clivages existants au sein de...

For the 50th anniversary of the IRPP, we are exploring the biggest public policy challenges facing Canada through a series of panel discussions held at some of Canada’s major policy schools. This episode is a recording of our discussion on shifts in regulatory governance held on March 22, 2022 in collaboration with Carleton University’s School of Public Policy and Administration. What is the role...

The federal government tabled the 2022 budget on April 7. Coming in the third year of the pandemic, hot off the Liberal-NDP agreement, and the escalating Russian invasion of Ukraine, the federal budget responds both to immediate needs and long-term priorities. On this special crossover episode, we share a conversation from the Voice Above podcast, with host Kate Todd talking to Charles Breton, the...

Le gouvernement fédéral a dévoilé le 29 mars son plan très attendu de réduction des émissions de gaz à effet de serre (GES). Le plan détaille entre autres comment le Canada prévoit atteindre son objectif de générer 40 % moins de GES en 2030 par rapport à 2005. Pour parler de ce projet complexe et certainement ambitieux, le directeur du Centre d’excellence sur la fédération canadienne de l’IRPP Cha...

The past few years have been extremely disruptive for Canada’s labour market. In a period of considerable economic change, we have also been facing a pandemic that has shaken the labour market to its core. Some sectors of the economy were shedding jobs and others were frantically searching for workers. It has become clear that workers’ ability to take advantage of emerging job opportunities will d...

Over the past few years municipal budgets have been strained. In addition to the regular costs, the pandemic has created new and unpredictable expenses, climate-related disasters are increasing in number and scale, and municipalities are on the front lines as first responders supporting their citizens. That’s where provincial-municipal equalization payments come in. Similar in concept to federal e...