Economy

Bring Politics Back to Monetary Policy
- January 25, 2018
The current battle over the liberal world order seems to be about trade, climate, and security policy. But monetary policy has also become an increasingly important arena of conflict. Populist leaders seem to love nothing more than denouncing central bankers …
By Jacqueline Best
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Scrooge in Paradise: Why Private Wealth is a Political Issue
- December 19, 2017
As global inequality grows to “extreme levels” — as revealed in the just-released World Inequality Report — it is hard not to wonder what it bodes for the health of liberal democracy — around the world and here in Canada.…
By Jacqueline Best
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How Rational are Capitalists in the Developing World?
- December 13, 2017
By Thomas Chiasson-LeBel

A questionable fundamental assumption underpins a great deal of the literature in International Development studies. It suggests that given the proper incentives, a “national bourgeoisie” will adequately reinvest its profits and provoke a virtuous cycle of reinvestment …
By CIPS
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The Nuclear Renaissance is Dead… Did Canada Miss the Memo?
- November 11, 2017
Since the early 2000s, there has been much talk about the “nuclear renaissance” — the expected revival and expansion of the civilian nuclear energy industry. The idea has largely been kept afloat by industry efforts to promote nuclear energy as …
By Ryan Katz-Rosene
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NAFTA is the Wrong Venue to Govern Digital Trade
- September 14, 2017
By Susan Ariel Aaronson and Patrick Leblond

Diplomats from Canada, Mexico, and the United States are thinking about the website where you met your soulmate, and the cloud service where you store your photos. In an increasingly digital economy, policy …
By Patrick Leblond
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Why NAFTA’s Chapter 19 is Worth Fighting For
- July 29, 2017
Canada has reportedly drawn a “red line” over Chapter 19 as the US calls for NAFTA renegotiations. That’s a good thing.

Even before the negotiations to revise and modernize NAFTA begin on 16 August, a red line has been drawn …
By Patrick Leblond
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US Demands Won’t Lead to the NAFTA of Our Nightmares
- July 22, 2017
On July 17, the United States Trade Representative Office published the Trump administration’s detailed objectives for renegotiating the North American free-trade agreement. Contrary to President Donald Trump’s rhetoric about NAFTA in the past, the objectives document’s overall tone is very …
By Patrick Leblond
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A New Defence Policy for a New World Disorder?
- June 12, 2017
Today’s world is sometimes described as “post-truth, post-West, post-order.” This week Canada received three maps for navigating it: first the House of Commons foreign policy speech by Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland, then the Defence Policy Review, and finally …
By Srdjan Vucetic
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Dealing with Trump, Part 2: Charm Them with Statistics
- June 2, 2017
Given the decentralized nature of power in the United States, Ottawa’s attack plan to protect NAFTA includes a significant lobbying effort with members of Congress. Armed with detailed numbers, Canadian representatives repeatedly emphasize what is probably their strongest argument: Canada …
By Thomas Juneau
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Dealing with Trump, Part 1: Canada’s Success (So Far)
- June 1, 2017
Few countries have more to lose economically from a hostile Donald Trump administration than Canada. The country’s prosperity is largely dependent on privileged access to the US market: about 75 percent of Canadian exports are sold in the United States, …
By Thomas Juneau
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The G7 Disruptor
- June 1, 2017
The G7 is traditionally praised for its solidarity and collegiality, but the May 26–27 summit saw a very fragile partnership with an unapologetic disruptor at the table. The summit, and the NATO summit the day before, had its technical successes, …
By John Sinclair
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Geopolitical Policy Challenges on a New Canadian Path, Part 2: The New Leadership and Canada
- May 3, 2017
Following on Part 1, this section extends the discussion of disrupting factors to explore what could be key changes and how Canada might respond to a new global order. For Part 1 of this post, click here.

Canadian public …
By John Sinclair
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