While National Newswatch does not keep an archive of external articles for longer than 6 months, we do keep all articles written by contributors who post directly to our site. Here you will find all of the contributed and linked external articles from Kevin Page.
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne tabled the Spring Economic Update (SEU) in Parliament on April 28, 2026 – six months after the fall budget and on the one-year anniversary of the federal election; a symmetry between the political and financial cycles that underscored Prime Minister Mark Carney’s economic credentials.
Canada needs to make workforce upskilling a central pillar to the Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategy. The global economy is entering an AI accelerating phase. Countries that have relatively large knowledge economy sectors, like Canada, face higher exposure to AI-driven change. Budget 2025 focused on AI infrastructure investments. Budget 2026 must expand the focus to AI workforce upskilling. AI is...
On March 9, the Honourable Wayne Long, Secretary of State for Financial Institutions, tabled the certificate of nomination in the House of Commons to ask members of Parliament to approve Annette Ryan as the next Parliamentary Budget Officer of Canada. Ms. Ryan, who currently serves as a deputy director at the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre, or Fintrac, is...
On November 4th, Budget 2025 shifted the Carney government’s policy priorities to economic growth and national defence in response to a rupture in Canada-US trade relations and new NATO commitments. Public finance with a focus on capital investment is the principal instrument of change. In line with this strategy, a closer look at Canada’s sagging productivity suggests the next budget...
Last week, François-Philippe Champagne tabled the federal budget as Canada faces complex and consequential challenges: low growth and high unemployment, affordability pressures, a ruptured trade relationship with the United States, increased NATO commitments, technological transformations, climate change, and more.
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne tabled Budget 2025 on November 4th, 2025. Given the spring election and the government’s commitment to change the financial cycle by tabling budgets in the fall, Parliament and Canadians are getting two budgets in one (2025 and 2026). Margaret Atwood has said that the difficulty of managing from the center is that you get attacked from...
Budget 2025 will be tabled in Parliament by Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne on November 4th. It is an opportunity for Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government to set a new policy direction for Canada. Uncertainty is high. Stakes are high. Will the government meet the moment – the hinge moment, as Carney would say? Will Budget 2025 be fiscally responsible? James...
Finance Minister François Philippe Champagne today announced changes to the timing and presentation of federal budgets, making fall budgets a permanent fiscal fixture and, as promised in the Liberal Party’s election platform, distinguishing between operational and capital spending allocation. The tradition of fall economic statements will now move to spring.
The 2025 federal budget will be tabled in Parliament on November 4, 2025. It will be close to a year since Canadians have had an updated fiscal plan. A lot has happened during that year, much of it carrying economic implications for Canada and the world. Relations with the United States, our closest ally, have deteriorated due largely to trade...
Last week, Prime Minister Mark Carney and our North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies agreed to a new defence investment pledge — investing 5 per cent of annual gross domestic product (GDP) by 2035. That figure includes 3.5 per cent on core military capabilities and 1.5 per cent on defence and security-related infrastructure, such as ports and emergency preparedness systems.
The principal ballot box question for the 2025 federal election is which party leader is best positioned to address Donald Trump’s trade war and threats to Canadian sovereignty. The conflict with the Trump administration has the potential to be a turning point for the Canadian economy. Forecasters are suggesting we brace for an economic recession. Whether or not this happens...
Canadian national spirit is high. The positive emotional reaction to the Team Canada hockey victory over the U.S. in the 4 Nations Face-Off was inspirational and historic. Strong patriotic responses have been ignited by President Donald Trump’s repeated musings about making Canada the 51st state and the use of US “economic force” (including significant tariffs on Canadian imports) to weaken...
We live in difficult times for policymakers and governments. The term “polycrisis”, coined by Edgar Morin and Anne Brigitte Kern in their 1999 book, Homeland Earth and revived for our recent era of perpetual disruption by then-European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in 2018, has now been fully mainstreamed by historians and analysts, including Adam Tooze. Economics, politics, geopolitics and the...
On October 22, 2024, the Bank of Canada reduced its policy interest rate by 50 basis points to 3.75 per cent, down from a 5 per cent peak in June 2023. Further reductions in the policy rate, as well as household and business interest rates, are anticipated in the months ahead. Statistics Canada’s latest releases for inflation and output tell...
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland tabled Budget 2024 on April 16. Faced with a weak economy, many difficult policy changes, and limited fiscal room, Freeland chose action. This year’s budget theme has shifted from “Growing the Middle Class” to “Fairness for Every Generation”. Fairness implies bigger government. The budget is big. There are multiple priorities and more...
Policymakers and politicians face a dilemma in 2024. We are in a slow/no growth economy with relatively high inflation. Downside economic risks are significant. Policy credibility, institutional trust and political support are on the line. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland must find a fiscally responsible path for Budget 2024 that supports disinflation and a soft landing (no...