Canada @ 159 ... 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗪𝗲 𝗗𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴? 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗲 𝗹𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗱𝗮? 💪 Structurally sound fundamentals But we’re facing headwinds 💨 💪 Des fondamentaux structurellement solides Des vents contraires se lèvent 💨 #Canada #PublicFinance #FiscalPolicy #Wellbeing #Productivity #IFSD #IFPD

“𝘍𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺… 𝘐𝘯 𝘊𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘥𝘢, 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥… 𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘴.” Food affordability measures are welcome, but as this clip from 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺 explains, addressing food supply—or even prices—is unlikely to move the needle on food insecurity.

💬 𝘍𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘢 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘦—𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘦 ➤ About 𝟏 𝐢𝐧 𝟒 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬 & 𝟐.𝟓 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧 are food insecure @ifsd.ca's 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺 brought together leading experts to explore a key question facing 🇨🇦: 👉 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗱𝗮’𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲𝘁𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆?

🚨 New 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺 episode from IFSD: 𝐅𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐧 🇨🇦 — 𝐀 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐞 ➤ ~𝟏 𝐢𝐧 𝟒 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬 ➤ ~𝟐.𝟓 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧 ➤ 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐬 So what's going on? Canada’s social safety net isn’t keeping up. But it wasn't built to.

Since Donald Trump became President... 🇨🇦's economy has been responding to large economic shocks. "Businesses and investors are in a holding pattern. The lyrics resonate: ‘𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘐 𝘢𝘮; 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘣.”

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗕𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗨𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀—𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻. 👉 But this isn't about 𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗲𝗹𝘀. 👉 What counts is if 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 —and 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲. Budget 2026 will tell us.

“𝐖𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭… 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦.” @sahirkhan.bsky.social and Heather Scoffield on trust, intergenerational fairness, social licence and why taxation remains one of the most difficult conversations in public policy.

𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗱𝗮 𝘃𝘀. “𝗹𝗼𝘄-𝘁𝗮𝘅” 𝗨.𝗦. 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀—𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀? “𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘵𝘢𝘹 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘸-𝘵𝘢𝘹 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩-𝘵𝘢𝘹 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦.” @sahirkhan.bsky.social speaks with US tax expert Scott Pattison about what’s often missed in 🇨🇦–🇺🇸 comparisons.

💬 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗼 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 🇨🇦? Former Liberal leader Stéphane Dion spoke to Kevin Page on IFSD's 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙋𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙈𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙮 podcast about Canada's national unity. As Alberta votes this fall on whether they'll have a vote on separation, his points remain timely.

With rising global uncertainty and conflict, Canada has committed to significantly increasing defence spending through 2035. @ifsd.ca CEO Kevin Page is quoted in a new CP story today highlighting an important distinction: 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 🇨🇦 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘀—𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝘄.

𝐖𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐚 𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠. Watch Kevin Page and @sahirkhan.bsky.social talk about how 🇨🇦's fiscal choices are becoming harder as Canada approaches a tipping point on defence spending.

𝗔 𝗸𝗲𝘆 ❓ 𝗳𝗼𝗿 🇨🇦 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘄: 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝘄𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴—𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 CP’s @kduggan.bsky.social asked @mark-carney.bsky.social about @ifsd.ca President Kevin Page's @thestar.com op-ed: the need for more transparency on how Canada gets from 2% → 3.5% of GDP on defence.

🚨 New Episode Drop: 𝐓𝐀𝐗𝐄𝐒 & 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐎𝐅𝐅𝐒: 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐖𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐝𝐚 Lower taxes don’t just happen — we pay for them through spending cuts, higher fees, deferred investment, or revenue raised elsewhere. In 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲, we get behind the slogans to the real-world tradeoffs of 🇨🇦 tax policy.

“𝗔 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲 — 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱.” IFSD President Kevin Page in a new op-ed: 🇨🇦 faces a challenging fiscal reality:
➡️ slower growth
➡️ trade shocks
➡️ rising defence + infrastructure demands This justifies stabilizing deficit‑financed investments.

A well‑deserved honour. 👏 What a great evening the @ifsd.ca team had with friends and colleagues celebrating 𝗞𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝗴𝗲, the 𝗢𝘁𝘁𝗮𝘄𝗮 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻’s 2026 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 honouree.

Canada’s economy has shown resilience in 2025—but confidence is fragile. @ifsd.ca President and CEO Kevin Page and Executive VP @sahirkhan.bsky.social unpack what the Fiscal Update said about growth, deficits, and why transparency and delivery will matter as Canada moves from plans to results.

"𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙜𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙪𝙥𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙖 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙘𝙠‑𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙛 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚… 𝙖𝙡𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 $28 𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙙𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙨, 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙧𝙨, 𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙛 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙪𝙢𝙥 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙘𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙩." @sahirkhan.bsky.social spoke to CBC Radio The Current host Matt Galloway on the Fiscal Update

𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁‑𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺 𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗹𝘆. 𝗙𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝘂𝗺𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗲𝘁𝗹𝘆. As @sahirkhan.bsky.social said: “𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆 — 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗲’𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗴𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗹𝗹.”

𝐅𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐔𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞—𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠. On BNN Bloomberg @ifsd.ca's Kevin Page unpacked what’s beneath the deficit improvement. ✅ Deficit track has modestly improved, supported by stronger revenues. ✅ Debt‑to‑GDP looks slightly better than budget—but remains largely flat.

🚨 6:00 pm TONIGHT! 🍽️ A timely discussion on practical, durable, evidence-based policy solutions to food insecurity and affordability 🏢 uOttawa, Desmarais Bldg—Room 4101 55 Laurier Avenue East We hope you can join us for this event Register 👉 bit.ly/4sgZeig 𝙍𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙡𝙨𝙤 𝙖𝙫𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙤𝙧

🚨 18 h CE SOIR ! 🍽️ Un débat d'actualité sur la mise en place de politiques pratiques, durables et fondées sur des données probantes pour résoudre les problèmes d'insécurité et d’abordabilité alimentaires 🏢 Université d'Ottawa, Pavillon Desmarais—salle 4101 55, avenue Laurier Est

📺 IFSD’s Sahir Khan on CBC’s Rosemary Barton Live outlining what matters most as Ottawa delivers tomorrow’s Fiscal Update. “𝘼𝙛𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙩‑𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙢 𝙣𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧‑𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙢 𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙪𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙛𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙠.” Watch the full interview: youtu.be/pwoGJD63pGA

Just out from the Toronto Star, IFSD President Kevin Page helps set up what Canadians should look for in this week’s federal Fiscal Update: “If the nation's finances are a stack of paper on the prime minister's desk, then Mark Carney's distinctive stamp is already inked and poised to strike.” 👇

In the Nat’l Observer, Kevin Page speaks to the importance of clarity and transparency as the government updates its fiscal plans for public service spending, defence commitments, and reallocated resources. “This spring update should give us some insight into how all these priorities are going.”

What should Canadians really watch for in the Fiscal Update? In a timely new The Politics of Money episode, @ifsd.ca’s Kevin Page, Sahir Khan & Mostafa Askari talk about why execution risk, fiscal guardrails, and spending choices matter more than deficit numbers or headline measures.

Canada’s Fiscal Update shouldn’t be judged by a single deficit number or headline promise. The real test is credibility, execution, and long term sustainability. Here are the 6 things IFSD will be watching closely in Tuesday's Fiscal Update. 👇 Read more: www.linkedin.com/pulse/checki...

Congratulations to Annette Ryan on her appointment as Canada's new Parliamentary Budget Officer. Last month, former PBO Kevin Page and former Asst PBOs @sahirkhan.bsky.social and Mostafa Askari spoke about the challenges facing Ms. Ryan as she takes up the position at such a pivotal moment.

Congratulations to Annette Ryan on her appointment as Canada's new Parliamentary Budget Officer. Last month, former PBO Kevin Page and former Asst PBOs @sahirkhan.bsky.social and Mostafa Askari spoke about the challenges facing Ms. Ryan as she takes up the position at such a pivotal moment.

📺 @ifsd.ca’s Kevin Page on CBC's Power & Politics on Canada’s fiscal outlook. Kevin said 🇨🇦 not "off course" + the deficit may be slightly lower. But global volatility remains high, so the govt must be transparent about multiple possible economic scenarios in the Fiscal Update. Full interview👇

The whole @ifsd.ca team is looking forward to seeing our President & CEO Kevin Page be recognized with the 2026 🌟 Award of Distinction from the Ontario Economics Association (OEA) and the Canadian Association for Business Economics (CABE), on May 12 2026.

Stay connected with IFSD ▶️ "The Last Page" newsletter, timely policy insights (including budget/fiscal update reactions), and info about upcoming IFSD events. Sign up now 👇 subscribe.ifsd.ca/newsletter-i...

"𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨." MPs vote to approve government spending (The Estimates) without a clear link to the govt's Budget plan. IFSD’s Kevin Page and @sahirkhan.bsky.social talk about how this creates confusion and what can be done to fix it.

🆕 Bonus episode: Why the Estimates are so confusing. Every spring, Parliament votes to approve billions in spending through the Main Estimates. Every year, the govt also tables its Budget. But MPs, journalists, and the public are often left trying to reconcile documents that don’t line up.

Canada isn’t unique in facing tensions between central governments and provinces or states. But Stéphane Dion reflects on what does set 🇨🇦 apart: strong decentralization and the risk of “𝘧𝘶𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵.”

“The system is being pushed to create new agencies and programs while injecting roughly $30 billion into the economy. That’s not business as usual.” — Kevin Page, President of @ifsd-ifpd.bsky.social at @uottawa.ca @uottawa-innovation.bsky.social Brown Bag Lunch on public policy

“Europeans and Canadians have always loved each other. But we never felt that we needed each other.” That has changed. As we see with PM Carney back Europe. The latest Politics of Money podcast has Stéphane Dion with Kevin Page, talking external sovereignty pressures and internal unity threats.

Before 2008, MPs and the public were severely limited in access to public finance info. Then the Parliamentary Budget Office was created. Kevin Page's founding PBO team talk building the Office, Annette Ryan's nomination, and why its needed now. 🎧Full podcast: ifsd-thepoliticsofmoney.transistor.fm

🎙️The Politics of Money — a new podcast from IFSD🎙️ 1st ep: Kevin Page, Sahir Khan, and Mostafa Askari draw on their experiences building and leading the PBO, discuss Annette Ryan's nomination as next PBO. 👀 on YouTube youtu.be/crS_DTnlPKc?... 🎧 Subscribe: ifsd-thepoliticsofmoney.transistor.fm

Strong fiscal oversight matters — and leadership matters, too. Kevin Page, IFSD's President, spoke to @theglobeandmail.com about Annette Ryan's nomination to be Canada’s next Parliamentary Budget Officer. As 🇨🇦's first PBO, Kevin talked about the kind of qualities that are needed to lead the PBO.

Good democratic debate starts with shared facts. That’s the critical role of the #PBO – independent analysis in service of Parliament and 🇨🇦.

"Many believe we are living through an historical, pivotal moment—geo-political, trade, technology..."

Kevin Page, IFSD President & Canada’s first Parliamentary Budget Officer, spoke to The Hill Times about the search for the next PBO –– and how the PBO plays a critical role in supporting Parliament and making sure Canadians have access to independent fiscal analysis at this tumultuous time.

Read about why the next 🇺🇸 #Fed chair matters to 🇨🇦: 🇨🇦 interest rates, 🇨🇦$, 🇨🇦 affordability and cross‑border #cdnecon impacts. IFSD's latest in Policy Magazine from Kevin Page breaks down appointment processes and why independence is a public good. More 👉 www.policymagazine.ca/donald-trump...

Central Bank independence underpins stable prices and economic growth. The next Fed chair choice isn’t just a 🇺🇸 story—it will impact 🇨🇦 commodity prices, affordability in 🇨🇦, the 🇨🇦 dollar and 🇨🇦's industries. Read the latest from @ifsd-ifpd.bsky.social's Kevin Page in @policymag.bsky.social→

With a push to rethink how programs and services are delivered and a #BuyCanadian policy, procurement is facing real change. The risks of getting it wrong are significant. @sahirkhan.bsky.social warns that w/o rethinking procurement, we may end up “outsourcing functions to keep that system going.”

As the House returns today, the next #fiscalpolicy phase begins: moving beyond announcements and planning to execution. Kevin Page gave #Budget2025 a “B+” for strategy—sound priorities, strong vision. But the challenge now for the government is to turn vision and ambition into results.

“When everything is in flux and the future is up for grabs.” (-S. Rushdie) Kevin Page warned last fall about 🇨🇦's difficult policy choices as we face this “hinge moment.” As we continue to unpack PM Carney's Davos speech, MPs will return Monday to start dealing with the Budget Implementation Act.

With the Arctic in the news, a timely reminder that 🇨🇦's sovereignty is LIVED, in Arctic communities. Our credibility is strengthened by pairing defence modernization & economic development with investments that advance well being in Inuit Nunangat communities. Read more: ifsd.ca/2025/08/link...

"I think the parliamentary budget officer should be neutral with respect to policy implications." IFSD’s Kevin Page quoted in this important article about the future of 🇨🇦’s PBO — its mandate, its appearance of objectivity, and how it should best work. Read more👉 www.cbc.ca/news/politic...

As 2025 draws to a close, we’re looking back at the year that was — and starting our lookahead to Budget 2026. 🎉 Happy New Year 🎉, from the whole team at @IFSD_IFPD. mailchi.mp/ifsd.ca/back...