This report investigates the effects of emissions pricing, such as the federal fuel charge or B.C. carbon tax. It focuses on how these policies impact households differently based on their income levels, regions and family types. The analysis is set against the backdrop of rising inflation, particularly between June 2021 and June 2022, when consumer prices rose sharply. One of the key concerns we address is whether emissions pricing significantly contributes to overall cost increases and how government measures, such as rebates, can help ease the financial burden on households.
The importance of the United States as a trading partner for Canada is widely recognized here, but the significance of Canada as a trading partner for the U.S. is often overlooked south of the border. While U.S. trade comprises a larger share of Canada’s GDP compared to the reverse, this perspective doesn’t fully capture the economic interdependence of the two countries. This report provides a comprehensive look at the complexities of this relationship and the role of trade policy in both countries’ productivity.
Canada’s truck transportation sector faces significant economic and legal challenges due to internal trade barriers. These barriers, which include varying regulations across provinces, add approximately 8.3 percent to freight rates, thereby inflating business costs and reducing overall productivity in the economy. This report discusses the potential for a Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) under the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) as a way to alleviate these obstacles, thereby enhancing economic integration and boosting Canada’s productivity and real GDP.
Inflation surged in most advanced economies in 2021 and 2022 before easing considerably in 2023. In Canada, the headline Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 8.1 percent in the year ending June 2022, then declined to 2.8 percent by June 2023 - the most …
In Canada, provincial and territorial governments have constitutionally enshrined powers that give them considerable jurisdiction over the standards, rules, regulations, and certifications that govern goods and services. These regulatory divergences can and do affect interprovincial trade by making it difficult for goods, services, labour, and capital to flow across borders. These barriers can make it more expensive for consumers in one region to purchase goods and services produced in another, and as a result increase costs and lower Canada’s overall productivity.
The benefits of increased pipeline access for Alberta's economy are well known. The benefits of infrastructure corridors, however, go far beyond pipelines. By reducing interprovincial and international trade costs, multimodal infrastructure corridors …
British Columbia's economy and finances have been strong in recent years. But an aging population and declining real-estate activity may, over the medium and long run, create pressures that current policy is not well equipped to handle. This paper …
Study in Brief
Alberta should open its doors to job seekers with labour mobility reforms that will boost its economic fortunes post-COVID. The province has a unique opportunity to promote economic revival and longterm economic growth by ensuring that it is the most welcoming jurisdiction to talented workers and entrepreneurs from across Canada.
The gains from easing labour mobility restrictions are large. In this report, we find that for each 1,000 additional workers that move into Alberta in response to lower migration costs we estimate Alberta’s economy grows by 141 million dollars.
Major crises have figured prominently in the development of Canadian federalism. The COVID-19 pandemic certainly qualifies as a major crisis, not only in the specific public health domain, but also for its social, economic, and fiscal dimensions. As …