ViewPoint: Canada Should Establish an Equitable Growth Institute

Canada faces serious economic challenges and needs strategic policy advice to succeed. Productivity growth must rise from the mediocre trend of recent decades. The spoils of growth should be more evenly distributed. As a carbon-intensive economy, the adjustment to net zero emissions will require fundamental change. The Government of Canada has benefited from advice from occasional advisory groups, but it has been decades since there has been a comprehensive, multi-year policy research effort. The time has come to establish an Equitable Growth Institute. It should align with the objectives of the Government but have sufficient independence to tackle tough issues. Provinces and territories must be involved as they hold many of the policy levers. In addition to having its own governance structure and researchers, it should bring together and where appropriate create networks of researchers. The Institute should delve into big questions of the day, including whether and how a Quality of Life framework can inform decision-making and whether there are tradeoffs or complementarity between economic growth and equity and sustainability objectives.