The Centre for Civic Engagement
View papersOur purpose
The Centre for Civic Engagement conducts research on topics of public interest
including those relating to governance, law, global affairs, economics, trade, technology, the environment, and culture, and publicly disseminate its research findings through seminars, workshops, courses, and conferences.
What we do
CCE seeks to inform and engage Canadians
Through its work the CCE seeks to inform and engage Canadians from all walks of life in a conversation about the country’s public policy priorities and opportunities all focused on creating the pre-conditions for economic growth, international relevance and individual human flourishing. The CCE is explicitly non-partisan and does not accept funding proposals. For more information on the CCE’s work visit the research page on this website.
Our research
Research papers
Developing Canadian Foresight Capabilities
DownloadThis report assesses Canada’s current foresight and forecasting infrastructure, reviews established tools (scenario planning, decomposition, crowdsourcing, AI-augmented analysis), and identifies gaps in institutional capacity. It argues for coordinated investment in methodological training, platforms, and culture to enable Canada to anticipate and respond to complex global challenges.
30/09/25
The Future of Canada-US Trade
DownloadThis study applies foresight methods to Canada–U.S. trade, decomposing key drivers (USMCA review, macroeconomics, geopolitics, elections, domestic politics) and building five plausible scenarios. It argues that Canada is likely to face protracted, sector-specific tensions rather than a full trade collapse, and urges stronger forecasting capacity.
30/09/25
Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill Means Canada Falls Further Behind in Race to Attract Top Talent
DownloadThe United States Congress recently passed President Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill,1 which among things extended and made permanent the income tax rate reductions and revised tax brackets first implemented in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.2 This should raise alarm bells for policymakers north of the border as Canada will continue to have uncompetitive personal income tax rates compared to our American counterparts, and fall even farther behind in the race to attract entrepreneurs, professionals, investors and top talent.
15/09/25
Reimagining Canada’s Federal Government Through DOGE With a Heart
DownloadIn reimagining the purpose of government today, it would be remiss not to talk about the role of modern technology in accelerating change—data integration, mobile services, cloud, and AI. However, what matters is not just technology itself, but rather the psychology and ethos of what the private sector technology world has achieved. W
15/09/25