Faculty

What problem is Pierre Poilievre trying to solve with his TFSA proposal? | Toronto Star

admin — Thu, 03 Apr 2025 12:43:30 +0000

March 30, 2025 | Professor Jennifer Robson is the 2024-25 McConnell Visiting Scholar. For the last 20 years, there has been no limit to how much you can invest outside of Canada in tax-preferred savings accounts like TFSAs and RRSPs. In a largely stable, rules-based, and tightly-integrated global market, that probably made sense for an open economy like ours (Canada).

Taylor Owen Interviews Jim Balsillie on How to Build a More Sovereign Canada | The Globe and Mail

admin — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 18:17:28 +0000

April 24, 2025 | With less than a week before the federal election, Taylor Owen sat down with Jim Balsillie—former co-CEO of Research in Motion and one of Canada’s most prominent business leaders—to discuss why Canada’s economy is falling behind and what must change. As Donald Trump escalates attacks on the Canadian economy and hints at turning Canada into the “51st state,” Balsillie argues the real threat to Canadian sovereignty isn’t Trump—it’s decades of political complacency and corporate capture.

Gabriel Blanc, Cyrus Nagra, and Kiran Gill on Rebuilding Immigration Consensus for Nation-Building | The Line

admin — Tue, 27 May 2025 16:30:41 +0000

May 23, 2025 | In a opinion piece for The Line, MPP ’25 students Gabriel Blanc, Cyrus Nagra, and Kiran Gill argue that Canada’s leaders are overlooking a critical ingredient in their bold nation-building agendas: immigration. Reflecting on the 2025 federal election, the authors note that while both major party leaders championed infrastructure and housing plans, they conspicuously sidestepped a positive vision for immigration.

L’Europe et le défi américain | Tour de Table

admin — Thu, 19 Jun 2025 17:53:17 +0000

June 18, 2025 | In March 2023, Jennifer Welsh launched Tour de Table, a podcast series that joins leading scholars and policymakers for a bilingual discussion of the political, economic, and security challenges confronting our world and whether and how Canada is prepared to address them.

Chris Ragan on Carney’s Budget Approach | Toronto Star

admin — Thu, 20 Feb 2025 21:44:27 +0000

February 20, 2025 | Mark Carney, an economist and former Governor of the Bank of Canada plans to balance Canada’s budget by separating capital and operating expenses has drawn support from some experts, including Christopher Ragan.

Taylor Owen on Eroding Journalism & Disinformation During an Election | CBC News

admin — Tue, 25 Mar 2025 16:38:11 +0000

March 24, 2025 | With trust in journalism eroding, disinformation once fringe is now mainstream. Much of it is spreading on social media. Professor Taylor Owen says the online media environment in Canada is more fragile and vulnerable to manipulation than ever before. A dangerous situation at the best of times even more so during an election.

Pearl Eliadis on Why Quebec Must Invest in Second-Stage Shelters to Break the Cycle of Violence | CQPI

admin — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 18:36:03 +0000

March 2025 | In a 2024 policy brief for the Collectif québécois pour la prévention de l’itinérance (CQPI), Pearl Eliadis, alongside Melissa Shemirani and Angelina Freeman, highlights the urgent need for increased investment in second-stage shelters for women and children fleeing domestic and intimate partner violence. Building on a 2022 recommendation from CQPI’s Gender Research Stream, the team conducted a rapid literature review that found second-stage housing plays a vital role in bridging the gap between emergency shelters and permanent housing.

Norman Hillmer on US-Canada Relationship | Rear Vision

admin — Wed, 07 May 2025 15:30:49 +0000

March 30, 2025 | Norman Hillmer, Slater Family Visiting Scholar, along with Robert Bothwell and Diane Francis spoke about the US-Canada relationship since the Trump Administration on Rear Vision podcast.

Vincent Rigby on Meeting Canada’s NATO Defence Targets | National Post

admin — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 17:23:56 +0000

June 9, 2025 | Vincent Rigby was quoted in the National Post in response to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s announcement that Canada will meet NATO’s 2% defence spending target this fiscal year, adding over $9 billion. Rigby, who previously served as national security and intelligence adviser, called the move a significant and welcome shift from earlier governments, emphasizing that it shows Canada is taking its defence commitments seriously. He noted that this is not just about supporting allies—it’s also about protecting Canadian interests and values.

Ricardo Chejfec MPP '21 and Abigail Jackson MPP '23 on Why Canada’s Nation-Building Projects Need a Skills Revolution | Policy Options

admin — Mon, 21 Jul 2025 15:18:09 +0000

July 16, 2025 | Abigail Jackson, MPP '23, and Ricardo Chejfec, MPP '21, along with Rachel Samson, co-wrote an article in Policy Options arguing that Canada’s push to accelerate major infrastructure and energy projects must be matched by an ambitious strategy to build the local skills needed to support them. They stress that without early investment in training and better coordination among employers, governments, and educators, many rural and remote communities could be excluded from the benefits of these nation-building efforts.

Chris Ragan on Carbon Tax | The Globe and Mail

admin — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 16:31:59 +0000

March 18, 2025 | Chris Ragan spoke on how removing carbon tax would be detrimental for Canada, in an interview published by The Globe and Mail. “The consumer carbon tax is not working, it’s become too divisive.” Mr. Mark Carney said on social media. Which is why the carbon tax has been canned. Mr.

Nickson Mugabi on Lessons for Uganda's Fiscal Model | Policy Magazine

admin — Wed, 09 Apr 2025 17:51:57 +0000

March 31, 2025 | MPP '25 Nickson Mugabi’s wrote that while Uganda has made efforts to improve fiscal transparency, weak institutions and lack of accountability continue to undermine public trust. Drawing on Niall Ferguson’s warning that transparency without reform can deepen cynicism, Mugabi points to Uganda’s low budget transparency score and high-profile corruption scandals as evidence.

Pearl Eliadis on Defending Charter Rights and Challenging the Notwithstanding Clause

admin — Tue, 10 Jun 2025 20:26:42 +0000

June 11, 2025 | Pearl Eliadis will join a virtual panel discussion hosted by the Task Force on Linguistic Policy on June 11 at 7:30 PM for Your Rights, Notwithstanding. This timely and thought-provoking event will explore the history and evolution of the Notwithstanding Clause, how it has been used by Québec in recent years, the risks it poses to Charter-protected rights, and the growing legal and civic efforts to push back against its unchecked use.

Vincent Rigby on the Challenges Ahead for the Canada-EU Defence Pact | Expert Group on Canada-US Relations

admin — Thu, 10 Jul 2025 17:45:02 +0000

June 2025 | Vincent Rigby, alongside other senior experts, co-authored a white paper analyzing the Canada-EU Security and Defence Partnership. While the agreement aims to reduce reliance on U.S. defence suppliers and expand access to the European market, the report warns that its success is far from guaranteed. Rigby and his co-authors highlight major fiscal and political barriers, including Canada’s underinvestment in defence, EU divisions over spending targets, and implementation hurdles in aligning procurement and supply chains.

Aengus Bridgman on the 2025 Federal Election, Social Media Platforms, and Misinformation | The Law Bytes

admin — Thu, 03 Apr 2025 13:54:55 +0000

March 31, 2025 | Aengus Bridgman, director of the Media Ecosystem Observatory (MEO), explains about the state of the major platforms in Canada in 2025, how our information ecosystem is vulnerable to misinformation, and what we should be doing about it. A contributor to studies on information issues in multiple federal and provincial elections, he is one of Canada’s leading experts on misinformation, digital activism, and the politics of digital media.