May 20, 2025

The need for a new approach to Canada-U.S. Diplomacy

Canada’s relationship with the U.S. is complex, asymmetrical, and fundamental to Canada’s economic prosperity. It is also entering a period of great uncertainty that requires a fundamental rethinking of Canada’s diplomatic engagement with the U.S.

Apr 30, 2025

Navigating the Fog of Trump’s Trade War

The global economy is facing major instability, especially due to the Trump administration’s trade policies, which have permanently disrupted free trade with the U.S. and the global trading system. Canada must act quickly with bold policy changes to stay competitive and find new export markets.

Apr 10, 2025

Should Canada Engage in a Tariff War with the US?

The threat of tariffs has dominated minds across Canada since the US government proposed them more than two months ago. They are causing a distressing and, perhaps, unnecessary concern among Canadians, mostly about the chaos that the uncertainty is creating.

Mar 6, 2025

Trump and the Assault on American Democracy

Donald Trump and those around him represent an assault on American democracy, and a threat to global stability. Canadians must understand that the country next door, long considered an ally has become an adversary that can no longer be trusted.

Mar 3, 2025

A case for renewal of municipal revenues in Saskatchewan

Municipal governments in Saskatchewan face significant challenges. An over reliance on property taxes, coupled with the need to address expanding social issues, service to citizens and infrastructure challenges has put enormous fiscal pressure on municipalities. It’s time to consider solutions that will make municipal governance more sustainable.

Jan 22, 2025

The Challenge is Global: Getting ready for the Trump 2.0 roller-coaster

The election of Donald Trump in 2015 was viewed by many as an aberration in American politics. Not so with his second coming, and the sweeping extent of his victory – the popular vote, the Electoral College, the Senate, the House and the support of Silicon Valley tech titans.

Jan 6, 2025

Canada needs policies to fill the gap in its nuclear fuel cycle

The Government of Canada recently identified a site in Ontario for the storage of spent nuclear fuel. The decision opens the door to Canada becoming fully engaged in the nuclear fuel cycle. To date, Canada’s role in nuclear power has been limited to the mining, manufacturing natural-uranium fuel bundles for CANDU reactors, and export of uranium as well as the commercial development and sale of nuclear reactors. There have been no legal impediments for Canada to engage in the full nuclear fuel cycle. Rather, the absence of clear policies on enrichment and reprocessing has impeded the domestic development of important related technologies.

Nov 7, 2024

Not all quiet on the equalization front in Canada

One of the most challenging and divisive public policy issues in Canada is the federal government's Equalization program. It seeks to ensure provinces have the fiscal capacity to deliver programs to their citizens on a roughly comparable basis. The formula to determine what provinces qualify to receive federal Equalization payments is by its nature a source of controversy. Recently Newfoundland and Labrador launched the latest court challenge to Equalization. In this Policy Paper for the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy (JSGS), Louis Levesque, considered one of Canada's leading experts on Equalization, does a deep dive into the economic and regional considerations that lie at the heart of the issue.

Oct 10, 2024

Foreign Policy in a Time of Turbulence

Our policies both foreign and domestic are indeed taking place in turbulent times. If there ever really was, there is certainly no real divide now possible between the policies that happen at home, and those that take place beyond our borders.

Sep 3, 2024

Policy that Governs Elections is the Foundation of a Healthy Democracy

There is no escaping today’s reality: more and more the challenges of democracy are in the headlines. It is evident around the world, whether in the presidential campaign unfolding in the U.S., in the unrest evidenced in the wake of Venezuela’s recent election, or in the rise of populist authoritarian figures across Europe, and elsewhere. Long considered the bedrock of western society, democracy itself is now often being questioned.

Aug 1, 2024

Reviving Civil Society is Key to Good Government

In 1996, Harvard University professor Robert Putnam gave the annual Manion Lecture in Ottawa, sponsored by the Canadian Centre for Management Development. The title of his address was The Decline of Civil Society: How Come? So What? It was four years before the release of Putnam’s book Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community, a seminal work that to this day remains a defining and insightful analysis on the decline of civil society in the United States.

Jul 5, 2024

Perspectives on the Challenge of Net Zero by 2050: What will it take?

Reaching the global target of net zero GHG emissions by 2050 represents one of the biggest public policy challenges ever undertaken. The magnitude of the task, which amounts to retooling the global economy in the next 25 years, cannot be overstated. Nor can the importance of achieving the goal to avoid what can be catastrophic climate consequences for future generations. This Policy Brief uses the perspectives of experts to detail the specifics of the challenge we face.

May 1, 2024

Increasing Capacity: How to meet the Challenge of Health Care Reform

Everywhere you look in Canada the health care system seems overwhelmed and barely able to cope with demand. We’ve all either heard the grim litany, witnessed it, or experienced it personally: excessive and often punishing wait times, shortage of skilled professions, burnout of health care professionals and support staff, inexorably rising costs that are putting pressure on government budgets.

Apr 2, 2024

We can’t seem to get things done in Canada anymore: how can we fix it?

Canada faces significant challenges including weak per capita income growth, soaring government spending, and strained international relations, leading to diminishing public trust. There is an urgent need for a more efficient and accountable government to address these issues and navigate the complexities of the modern world.

Feb 2, 2024

The global resurgence of economic nationalism: A looming threat for Canada

A new strain of economic nationalism is reshaping policies in the world’s two largest economies – the U.S. and China – and risks infecting the rest of us. This bout of nationalism coincides with profound structural changes in the global economy, a looming energy transition and intense strategic competition between America and China, making its future path highly uncertain and extremely difficult to navigate. It is an emerging risk to the global economy and Canada is not immune.

Dec 6, 2023

Saskatchewan’s Forgone Potash Windfall: Collecting a Fair Public Return

The price of potash doubled in 2022, adding $10 billion to the value of Saskatchewan's pink gold. But the provincial government collected only a quarter of this windfall. This policy paper highlights the need to improve royalties and taxes to ensure a fair return for the people of Saskatchewan.

Nov 3, 2023

Quebec as a Model for Provincial Autonomy in Alberta and Beyond

Nationalism is a powerful political force in countries as different as Canada, Belgium, Spain and the UK. In federal states, nationalist movements typically work to augment the autonomy of their community, often with some degree of success.

Oct 5, 2023

Economic Development in Saskatchewan: Where to from here?

The health of the Saskatchewan economy is an issue of active debate, usually leading to a discussion on how to improve the province’s economic growth and employment performance. There is often little or no agreement on either topic. The slowdown in Saskatchewan’s economic growth over the past decade demands that a more informed and inclusive discussion occurs.

Aug 4, 2023

Bound by the laws of growth: A Long-Term Global Perspective on Canada's Economic Performance

We might wonder if the economic trajectories of nations are determined by “laws of growth”, much as the law of gravity determines the trajectories of stars and planets. Clearly there are no laws of economic growth that approach the precision, universality, and permanence of the laws of physics. But if we stand back and observe the economic growth paths of nations from a sufficiently long-term, global perspective, certain significant regularities emerge. The purpose of this essay is to elaborate this claim as well as some of its implications for Canada’s economic performance looking forward.

Jul 11, 2023

Coordinating Human Service Systems for the Vulnerable: Lessons from The Regina intersectoral Partnership (TRiP)

Public administration organizes policy areas into separate departments or silos for the sake of order and efficiency, resulting in ‘departmentalism’, ‘tunnel vision’, and ‘single purpose organizations’. To meet the diverse needs of vulnerable children and youth, collaboration across various service delivery organizations is vital. Understanding how these collaborations are formed/structured, governed, and evolved is crucial for the effective collaborative efforts in the future.

Jun 7, 2023

Looking Forward to the Past: Lessons for the Future of Medicare

The sixtieth anniversary of Medicare (Boan 2006) came and went last year with almost no fanfare. The lack of celebration is not difficult to understand. While surveys indicate Canadians value their public health care system, it is also clear the system is struggling, and many are skeptical that recent funding agreements between the federal government and the provinces hold out much hope for radical improvement.

May 5, 2023

Access to Quality Healthcare for People who are Trans and Gender Diverse in Saskatchewan

People who are trans and gender diverse (PTGD) are a medically underserved population in Saskatchewan. An overburdened healthcare system has struggled to provide access to care of any kind for PTGD, let alone care that is inclusive and non-judgmental. There are also social and legal barriers—strictures within the healthcare system itself—that further impede access to care.

Mar 7, 2023

Saskatchewan and the Nuclear Option: Addressing Climate Change through Nuclear Electricity Innovation

The global impacts of climate change have become increasingly evident. Whether it's massive flooding in Pakistan, drought and rapidly declining river flows across Europe and the U.S., more intense hurricane activity, or forest wildfires, the scale of the climate change challenge is coming into a stark focus. So too has the urgent need to address the complex problem of climate change through significant Greenhouse Gas Emission (GHG) reductions.

Feb 1, 2023

Reforming the RCMP: The Path Forward

Few Canadians would disagree with the statement that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, probably Canada’s most iconic institution, is in trouble. But beyond a cacophony of public concerns over recent operational failures, there is much less consensus on either the cause or the cure.

Jan 21, 2022

Reconciliation isn’t just about treaty rights

To grasp fully the context of reconciliation with Indigenous people in Canada, it’s important to understand that the choices of Indigenous people as where to live have changed over the past two decades. Doing so puts into clearer perspective the roles that federal and provincial governments need to play in a coordinated manner if real progress is to be made.

Dec 10, 2021

Getting “Serious” About Climate Change: The Case for Nuclear

The fundamental reason democracies avoid “serious” climate change policy is that the majority of the electorate rarely give a high priority to events that occur beyond one or two decades. Mark Carney has labeled this problem as the “tragedy of the horizon”.

Nov 29, 2021

Citizen Science and COVID: Identifying the Needs of Rural and Remote Education

The effect of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) on educational institutions has been well documented, with activities of educational institutions across the globe being significantly affected by this pandemic. In particular, the evidence shows that the pandemic has had a significant detrimental impact on both educators’ and student mental health, with anxiety and depression rates climbing quickly.

Oct 8, 2021

Addressing Climate Change and Economic Growth: Are they compatible?

Late this month, approximately 25,000 people representing more than 200 nations will gather in Glasgow, Scotland to tackle yet again the climate challenge facing the world. The Conference of the Parties, known as COP 26, has set four goals. Clearly the most important and overarching is for the world to reach net zero emissions by 2050 so that we can limit the increase in the global temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius. It presents a herculean task. Based on the evidence of the last four decades following the first such climate summit in 1979, there is little reason for optimism.

Sep 21, 2021

Innovation in Northern Sweden: Are there Lessons for Canada?

This policy brief considers efforts made by a series of northern Swedish communities to build sustainable jobs and businesses beyond traditional northern economic activities in the age of rapid technological transformation. It has been adapted from a longer article published in the Journal of Northern Studies.

Aug 23, 2021

Balance: The Key to Good Governance and Policy Making

The argument that power has steadily become more centralized is nothing new. However, the potential harm that today’s scope and scale of centralization poses for our Westminster system government is, and deserves greater public scrutiny and discussion. Elections are an opportune time for such a reconsideration by all political parties.

Jul 23, 2021

The Politics and Governance of Artificial Intelligence

Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and related technologies offer important opportunities for society, from medical care to driverless cars. But these technologies also raise troubling implications, including the potential for hidden biases, unexplainable decisions, the undermining of individual rights, widespread job displacement, and environmental impacts.

May 13, 2021

Competitiveness in a Protectionist World: Should We Send in the Diplomats?

Often governments get siloed in their thinking. They become so immersed in how they traditionally approach public policy issues that they fail to broaden their perspectives in search of new insights. This habit, which misses opportunities in a business-as-usual world, becomes a real risk in times of rapid change.

Apr 8, 2021

Canada Grain Act Review and Industry Goods: Lessons from Australia

This Policy Brief examines whether there are lessons to be learned from how Australia ensured industry-related public goods in its domestic grains sector as it transitioned to a more de-regulated market from the single-desk marketing regime of the Australian Wheat Board.

Mar 26, 2021

Innovation Policy: Lessons from the Pandemic

This issue of JSGS Policy Brief is part of a series dedicated to exploring and providing evidence-based analysis, policy ideas, recommendations and research conclusions on the various dimensions of the pandemic, as it relates here in Canada and internationally.

Mar 17, 2021

The Post-Pandemic Economy: What do Canadians Want?

This issue of JSGS Policy Brief is part of a series dedicated to exploring and providing evidence-based analysis, policy ideas, recommendations and research conclusions on the various dimensions of the pandemic, as it relates here in Canada and internationally.

Mar 1, 2021

Reproductive Justice and Indigenous Women in Saskatchewan: Overview and Recommendations

On January 26th, 2021 the Government of Saskatchewan announced it would be ending the use of birth alerts in the province, following the calls to justice from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. Although this is one step towards combating stigma against Indigenous parenthood and the policies that work to remove Indigenous children from their families, homes, and communities, there is still much to be done to address ongoing harms and to advance reproductive justice for Indigenous Peoples in Saskatchewan.

Jan 26, 2021

How Joe Biden Can Heal America

Written by Peter Nicholson, this Policy Brief seeks to provide an answer and, on that basis, to suggest the outline of a policy agenda to fulfill Joe Biden's pledge to heal America.

Jan 12, 2021

COVID-19: We Have a Vaccine, Now Comes the Hard Part

This issue of JSGS Policy Brief is part of a series dedicated to exploring and providing evidence-based analysis, policy ideas, recommendations and research conclusions on the various dimensions of the pandemic, as it relates here in Canada and internationally.

Dec 1, 2020

Making Co-Management Work: A Primer

Beyond policy is implementation. Too often what people believe to be good policy fails not because the policy itself is misguided, but because its application is flawed by lack of planning, organization and execution. This Policy Brief takes a different approach.

Oct 1, 2020

Beyond the Economy: Prioritizing Saskatchewan’s Wellbeing

This issue of JSGS Policy Brief is part of a series dedicated to exploring and providing evidence-based analysis, policy ideas, recommendations and research conclusions on the various dimensions of the pandemic, as it relates here in Canada and internationally.

Aug 6, 2020

Beware of Moral Hazard in COVID-19 Policy Responses

This issue of JSGS Policy Brief is part of a series dedicated to exploring and providing evidence-based analysis, policy ideas, recommendations and research conclusions on the various dimensions of the pandemic, as it relates here in Canada and internationally.

Jul 6, 2020

Staying Apart Through Clustering: Review of the research and innovation landscape on food

In 2017, the federal government announced its commitment to develop a national food policy for Canada that will emphasize “community bonding”. The assertion is that “food connects us. It brings us together”. Significant policy efforts and investments in food innovation were launched more than three years ago. How have things changed since then?

Jun 23, 2020

Reimagining a climate change future for Canada

This issue of JSGS Policy Brief is part of a series dedicated to exploring and providing evidence-based analysis, policy ideas, recommendations and research conclusions on the various dimensions of the pandemic, as it relates here in Canada and internationally.

Jun 16, 2020

Beyond Huawei: The Urgency of Digital Security

Over the past decade, cyber security has emerged as a crucial dimension of Canada’s national security policymaking. Its importance will only increase as Canada completes the transition to fifth generation (5G) telecommunications infrastructure.

May 26, 2020

Long-term care in the era of COVID-19: There is no place like home

This issue of JSGS Policy Brief is part of a series dedicated to exploring and providing evidence-based analysis, policy ideas, recommendations and research conclusions on the various dimensions of the pandemic, as it relates here in Canada and internationally.

May 14, 2020

Rethinking the Perceived Perils of Sovereign Government Debt

This issue of JSGS Policy Brief is part of a series dedicated to exploring and providing evidence-based analysis, policy ideas, recommendations and research conclusions on the various dimensions of the pandemic, as it relates here in Canada and internationally.

May 6, 2020

Designing COVID-19 Data Tools

This issue of JSGS Policy Brief is part of a series dedicated to exploring and providing evidence-based analysis, policy ideas, recommendations and research conclusions on the various dimensions of the pandemic, as it relates here in Canada and internationally.

Apr 27, 2020

COVID and Canadian Post-Secondary Education

This issue of JSGS Policy Brief is part of a series dedicated to exploring and providing evidence-based analysis, policy ideas, recommendations and research conclusions on the various dimensions of the pandemic, as it relates here in Canada and internationally.

Apr 24, 2020

A Crisis Response for Wilderness Tourism

Few, if any, areas of the Canadian economy have been hit as hard as tourism, particularly the kind of adventure recreation for which this country is justifiably famous. From wildlife excursions in the High Arctic to white water rafting expeditions in the Rocky Mountains, fishing trips to Northern Quebec and Northern Ontario, canoeing trips along the Churchill River, and kayaking cultural journeys in Haida Gwaii, Canada has emerged one of the world’s most diverse and exciting destinations for wilderness adventurers. Until 2020, that is.

Apr 21, 2020

Is it Time for Shared Sacrifice at Post-Secondary Institutions?

This issue of JSGS Policy Brief is part of a series dedicated to exploring and providing evidence-based analysis, policy ideas, recommendations and research conclusions on the various dimensions of the pandemic, as it relates here in Canada and internationally.

Apr 16, 2020

Building the New "Found" Generation: The Indigenous Recovery Corps

Over the last century, Indigenous communities have had generation after generation of young leaders stolen from them. It started with waves of epidemic diseases that killed tens of thousands of people and undermined First Nations for decades, leaving them seriously weakened. Residential schools subsequently removed thousands of Indigenous youth and later returned the young people to their communities, hurt and alienated from their cultures.

Apr 13, 2020

Part of the solution to managing pandemics is in our pockets

When our society has faced existential crises in the past, we have banded together to overcome the challenge. The COVID-19 pandemic is one such threat that requires not only a cohesive effort, but also enormous trust, to follow public health guidelines, maintain social distance, and share basic necessities. Are democratic societies with civil liberties capable of doing this?

Mar 26, 2020

A world in distress: The first stage of the battle against the pandemic

Politicians and public servants are immersed in one of the most challenging non-war situations in a century. The novel coronavirus has tied the world in a series of policy knots that start with public health and national safety, and sweep across global transportation and employment, to deficit financing and fundamental questions about the role of government in society.

Mar 18, 2020

Targeted Basic Income: An Equitable Policy Response to COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown the world how interconnected we all are, and how much we need (and depend) on each other. In Canada, it has been heart-warming to see the responses of people who face very little personal risk from the virus nevertheless work together to protect the elderly and other vulnerable members of our communities. The situation has also highlighted that Canadians still place a lot of faith in our government and institutions, and that we are willing to act quickly and collectively to ensure that our health care system does not become overwhelmed.

Jan 23, 2020

The Insidious and Dangerous Challenge of Crystal Meth

It’s been called a crisis, a scourge, an epidemic, a blight that is corroding the social fabric, destructive to families and individuals. Go ahead, pick your description. When it comes to the use of methamphetamine—or crystal meth—any or all of the above apply.

Nov 15, 2019

Anxiety and Anger on the Prairies: The Challenge to Federalism

In all the post-election hand-wringing, angst and analysis about western alienation these days, the most surprising thing is some people are genuinely surprised it has come to this. At least they seem that way in Ontario and Quebec. It kind of tells you all you need to know about how we find ourselves in this situation.

Oct 23, 2019

Innovation, Disruption and The Second Economy of Mining

The global mining industry, like so many other economic sectors, is in the midst of a technological revolution. What has long been considered a mature industry is going through a wave of technology-driven disruption. So transformational are the changes that there is not even useful language to capture the scope of what is taking place.

Sep 12, 2019

Have we hit “peak globalization”?

As we mark the 75th anniversary of the Bretton Woods conference, which under American, British and Canadian leadership established the postwar international architecture of a rules-based global trading system and the institutions to support it (IMF, World Bank, WTO, parts of the UN), it is timely to ask a critical question. Specifically, whether the astounding growth in globalization Bretton Woods nurtured and supported has reached its peak and, if so, what might be the implications.

Aug 13, 2019

5G Raises Tough Policy Choices for Canada

Fifth generation wireless telecommunications technology, commonly referred to as 5G, could provide an important foundation for the future of Saskatchewan’s rural areas and the application of advanced technology to industries like agriculture, and long-promised advances in telemedicine. But central to the development of Canada’s 5G system is the role that the equipment from the Chinese firm Huawei will play. With the United States lobbying Canada to follow it in banning Huawei from its 5G infrastructure, tensions between Canada and China on this and other fronts require the Canadian government to tread carefully. Where domestic policy and international politics collide, hard choices emerge. The risk assessment currently underway in Canada should guide Canada’s decision making on what to do about Huawei and 5G, though the inherent uncertainties in this case ultimately require what could be a costly decision.

Jul 16, 2019

Climate Change and the Policies of Deception

One thing is certain. The climate is going to change in Canada in the coming weeks and months when it comes to the climate change issue. It will get hotter. You can count on the debate, such as it is, intensifying as the nation heads towards an October election. And so it should, especially when the world faces an existential threat that is now officially deemed an “urgent climate crisis” by a motion of the House of Commons. For the purposes of the electorate passing judgment on the preferred policy to address climate change, the partisan battle lines are now well drawn.

Jun 4, 2019

Universities and the New World of Work: A Strong Relationship with Room for Improvement

There is considerable debate over the contribution of universities to the new world of work. It’s a world often characterized as precarious and volatile, with generally increasing skill requirements. There are many stories of university graduates being unemployed or not working to their potential. Yet the imperfect evidence available indicates that, on average, graduates do well.

Jan 21, 2019

Saskatchewan Potash Taxes and Royalties: Is it Time for a Review?

Potash production has long been important to the Saskatchewan economy. Consider: In 2017, exports of potash from Saskatchewan amounted to over $5.0 billion as compared to a Gross Domestic Product for the province as a whole of $79.5 billion that same year. According to the Mining Association of Canada, the province’s 10 producing potash mines have undergone significant investment activity, and the association identifies $9 billion in “recent” investments in the industry’s capacity.

Oct 9, 2018

Freedom from Government: The Origin of Good Ideas

A major preoccupation of people in government is policy innovation. More specifically, it’s how to inject new ideas and ways of doing things that result in policy with innovative and positive outcomes. It’s simple to say, but hard to do.

May 14, 2018

Pipeline Policy, Politics and the Public Interest

The dispute between the governments of Alberta, British Columbia and Canada over the proposed Trans-Mountain pipeline presents a compelling case study on a fundamental challenge that faces all governments, namely how to reconcile policy and politics. The reality is that good policy must also be sustainable politically.

Mar 22, 2018

Are superclusters sensible policy?

After two years of anticipation and competition, the federal government announced Feb 15 the five winning “superclusters” designed to spur economic development and innovation in Canada. Since then there has been a heated debate in the media, in boardrooms, within and among governments and in the academic community about the value and potential impact of such a large investment program.

Feb 16, 2018

The grim reality of Canada’s biggest policy failure

When it comes to judging a public policy approach, the starting point is to agree there is a reality that, based on existing social and economic norms, is unacceptable. With that as context, ask yourself this question: what has been, and continues to be, the biggest public policy failure in Canada? By any objective measure the answer has to be Indigenous and Aboriginal policy.