The Centre for Civic Engagement

This study argues that Canada can execute its nation-building agenda despite fiscal restraint by strengthening state capacity rather than expanding government. It recommends federal priorities, collaborative governance across provinces, municipalities, Indigenous communities and business, digital public-service modernization, automation and AI, and streamlined defence procurement to improve coordination, productivity, trust and delivery.

This study makes the case that Canada’s record household debt is dangerous not merely because mortgages may default, but because housing-focused borrowing crowds out productive investment. It highlights fragile leveraged wealth, looming renewal pressures, declining construction productivity, and policies favouring mortgages, urging policymakers to reassess debt’s composition and its economic opportunity costs seriously.

This study argues that Canada’s weak GDP per capita growth reflects a real prosperity crisis, not measurement flaws. Canada has fallen behind OECD peers and the United States, with productivity, investment, immigration, and fiscal choices worsening living standards. The paper calls for policy reforms that boost capital investment, innovation, and growth.

This study argues that Canadian police are solving fewer crimes, with violent and non-violent clearance rates falling nationwide since the mid-2010s. Rising violent crime, population growth, and fewer officers per capita have stretched investigative capacity, leaving more cases unresolved and signalling a criminal justice system under mounting strain across Canada.