For nearly a decade, since former Parliamentary Budget Office Kevin Page founded the Institute of Fiscal Studies and Democracy at the University of Ottawa in 2016, regular economic analysis pieces from Kevin and the IFSD team have provided Policy readers with invaluable context and insight on everything from federal budgets to the economic impacts of the COVID pandemic to the role of the economy in election campaigns. We’ve recently begun gathering our IFSD pieces in a single post for easy reference. 

From 2025:

As Election Day approached in April, IFSD’s crack economic analysis team provided the public service of enlightening Policy readers on the fiscal DNA of the party platforms. First, amid persistent questions about why the three major-party election platforms had not yet made an appearance in the campaign, Mostafa Askari, Sahir Khan and Kevin Page filed a helpful explanation as to why this mattered. “Party platforms are important,” they wrote. “They provide information on the priorities of a political party that would shape their behavior as a government.” Here are Askari, Khan and Page with Where are the Costed Party Platforms? The Clock is Ticking. And, following the release of all three platforms in the days that followed, we published IFSD’s Fiscal Credibility Assessments of the Pre-Election Party Platforms. And, on April 24th, four days before Election Day, Askari, Khan and Page summarized their assessments in narrative form, with Following the Money in the 2025 Party Platforms.

With the prinicpal ballot question of the 2025 election being which leader could best deal with Donald Trump’s tariff war, IFSD President Kevin Page and University of Ottawa economics student Emaad Samsoodeen provided a report card on how canada’s tariff response was going so far. “Three policy responses have gained traction during the election campaign: the dismantling of interprovincial trade barriers, the diversification of trade partners, and moving forward on industry strategies, especially for critical minerals,” wrote Samsoodeen and Page. “If acted upon wisely, these could usher in an era of economic prosperity.” Here are Emaad Samsoodeen and Kevin Page with Assessing Canada’s Policy Responses to Trump’s Tariffs.

From March 25, a timely look at the security vulnerability that tends to get eclipsed amid the debate about defence spending: the resiliency of our information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure. “ICT infrastructure cannot be left out of the discussion on critical infrastructure and economic security,” write IFSD Economic Analyst Clara Geddes and IFSD Managing Director Helaina Gaspard. “From the purchasing of goods and services to the management of utilities to access to health care, ICT permeates all facets of economic and social life in Canada.” Here are Geddes and Gaspard with Information and Communication Infrastructure Resiliency: Canada’s Invisible Security Risk.

On the eve of the swearing-in of Canada’s new prime minister, Mark Carney, and his cabinet, and with a federal election looming, IFSD co-founder and executive vice president Sahir Khan filed a helpful primer on what’s needed to get Ottawa “fiscal plumbing” in order. “Fiscal plumbing is about the decisions governments take on how to allocate and spend public money, the controls in place to ensure spending delivers results, and the people interpreting the rules,” Khan writes. “Like regular plumbing, it is often unseen, but when mistakes are made, the repercussions can be unpleasant and damaging.” Here’s Sahir Khan on March 13th with Fixing the Fisc: Free Advice for Canada’s Next Prime Minister.

As Canada braces for a trade war threatened by U.S. President Donald Trump, on March 3rd, new research  from IFSD President Kevin Page and Economics student Showtell Browne provides a snapshot of the country’s vital signs at zero hour. “Canada is at a crossroads. Its global standing reflects both remarkable strengths and urgent challenges”, per the authors. Here are Showtell Browne and Kevin Page with Canada’s Global Standing: Prosperous, Progressive, and Peaceful.

From 2024:

On December 16th, the Trudeau government’s Fall Economic Statement was tabled in the House of Commons amid political uproar over the abrupt resignation from cabinet of Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland. “The immediate and downstream costs of this level of political turmoil are yet to be determined,” write Kevin Page and fourth-year University of Ottawa Economics student Showtell Browne in their Policy piece, Five Takeaways from the 2024 Fall Economic Statement.

In the mix of pre-election spending announcements from the federal government, argues IFSD senior researcher Clara Geddes, one stands out for its long-term value-added potential. Here’s Clara Geddes with How the National School Food Program Can Make a Difference.

How do governments reconcile the ongoing necessities of fiscal crisis management with the political threat of anti-incumbency? Very carefully. In November, Kevin Page and fourth-year University of Ottawa Economics student Ali Ghadbawi filed the must-read analysis piece Governing for Growth in a Time of Polycrisis.

In October, Kevin Page and fourth-year University of Ottawa Economics student Lilas Forcade filed a piece so insightful that it was later quoted in the government’s Fall Economic Statement. Here are Kevin Page and Lilas Forcade with Canada’s Soft Landing: Inflation Down, Interest Rates Falling, Economy Growing

From our June series The Political Economy, exploring the economic factors at play in pre-election contexts on both sides of the border through the question is “‘It’s the Economy, Stupid?’ still relevant?”, IFSD summer student Kam Haq and Kevin Page with The Political Economy: A Tale of Two Elections.

From our April Budget 2024 Reaction Package, the all-important fiscal portrait from Kevin Page, with Yasmine Hadid and Hunter Vanderlaan. Here’s Budget 2024: The Cost of Fairness.

In our Budget 2024 preview series, here are Yasmine Hadid and Kevin Page with The State of the Nation’s Finances, Hunter Vanderlaan and Kevin Page with Policymaking in a Slow/no Growth Economy and Kevin, Yasmine and Hunter with Charting Spending Under the Liberal Government.

Focused on public finance and its intersection with politics and institutions, the Institute of Fiscal Studies and Democracy (IFSD) provides evidence-based support for decision-making, budgeting, planning, due diligence, and institution-building.

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