Centre for Canadian Growth and Prosperity
Curate Thought Leadership
A national hub for clear insight, bold ideas, and informed progress.
Our research
Through original research, CCGP explores the ideas, policies, and practices that drive Canada’s long-term prosperity. Our research identifies emerging challenges, analyzes opportunities for innovation, and provides actionable insights to help leaders make informed decisions.
Our work is designed to translate complex issues into clear, accessible knowledge that can guide policy, strengthen competitiveness, and support inclusive growth. Drawing on rigorous analysis and engagement with experts and stakeholders across sectors, the CCGP’s research helps connect vision to evidence—and evidence to action.
By focusing on what truly matters for Canada’s future, the CCGP contributes independent, credible insights that shape national conversations and advance prosperity for all Canadians.
Preparing for 2026 and Beyond: Forecasting Insights in an Uncertain Economy
As we approach 2026, Canadian businesses face no shortage of challenges. In this webinar, our Associate Director of Economic Modelling, Cory Renner, and Principal Economist, Richard Forbes, will unpack exclusive insights from our leading economic forecasts. They’ll discuss key trends, trade tensions, and policy impacts to help you plan for the year ahead with confidence.
October 21, 2025 • Webinar • 60-min listen
U.S. Trade War Represents an $8.8 Billion Potential Gain for Canadian Tourism
President Donald Trump’s administration has put Canada–U.S. relations on edge, and Canadians are finding ways to support local industry as much as possible. However, the U.S. government’s tariffs have focused on goods, leaving services trade largely ignored—and services are one spot where Canadians can hit back.
May 29, 2025 • Commentary • 8-min read
Canada Spared the Worst on “Liberation” Day, but Uncertainty and Mayhem Continue
After months of teasing his reciprocal tariff approach, President Trump finally unveiled his plan. While Canada was spared from the worst, many other countries were hit with tariffs well above even the highest of expectations. This upheaval in global trade will significantly weigh on economic growth around the world, with the United States likely the biggest loser.
April 3, 2025 • Commentary • 8-min read
The True Cost of Trump Tariffs: City Impacts
In February, we released results of our national and provincial scenarios that assessed the impact of 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian exports to the U.S., with retaliation from Canada. Here we estimate the impact on the economies of 24 Census Metropolitan Areas of those same assumptions.
April 1, 2025 • Commentary • 16-min read
Trump, Tariffs and Trade: Canada’s Near-Term Economic Outlook
In this webinar from February 2025, our Chief Economist, Pedro Antunes, discusses the potential impacts of U.S. protectionist policies on consumer spending, business conditions and labour markets, as well as the Canadian policies that may mitigate their impacts.
February 24, 2025 • Webinar • 70-min listen
The True Cost of Trump Tariffs: Provincial Impacts
In early February we released our scenario that assessed the impact of U.S. tariffs on Canadian imports, with retaliation by Canada. Here we use that scenario to assess the impacts of those assumptions on each province’s economy.
February 19, 2025 • Commentary • 10-min read
The True Cost of the Trump Tariffs
Canada has been given a one-month reprieve from Trump’s proposed 25 per cent tariffs, but the threat will persist, with the latest news of a 25 per cent tariff on steel and aluminum products. Trump has clearly pushed the reset button on the norms of the Canada/U.S. relationship, and Canada is now embroiled in a trade war it never wanted.
February 10, 2025 • Commentary • 7-min read
Trump, Tariffs and Trade
The more we hear from President Trump, the more his strategy becomes clear: force private investment to flow into the United States. If you want to sell to U.S. consumers, then you’d better be producing those products within the U.S. borders.
January 29, 2025 • Commentary • 10-min read
Donald Trump’s 25 Per Cent Tariff Threat
It is still eight weeks before Donald Trump returns to the U.S. Presidency, but with a single statement he has already cast a dark shadow on North American economies. Announcing that he will impose 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian and Mexican imports into the U.S., on his first day in office, has confirmed fears that it will not be business as usual with our American neighbour.
November 27, 2024 • Commentary • 7-min read
Trade Partner Profile: Middle East and North Africa
In 2024, Canada exported approximately $10.4 billion CAD worth of products to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, representing about 1 per cent of all Canadian exports. Imports from the region totaled $9.8 billion.
June 12, 2025 • Commentary • 5-min read
Trade Partner Profile: India
In 2024, Canada exported $5 billion of goods to India and imported approximately $8 billion dollars worth. Indian imports of Canadian goods represent approximately 0.7 per cent of Canada’s goods exports, making India the tenth-largest buyer of Canadian products.
May 21, 2025 • Commentary • 6-min read
Trade Partner Profile: South America
Canada exported $550 million worth of goods to Ecuador in 2024; a figure now poised to grow. Key exports to the country include wheat, refined oil, and dried vegetables. The trade agreement will considerably improve market access for many Canadian sectors, particularly manufacturing, forestry, and fishing.
May 15, 2025 • Commentary • 2-min read
Trade Partner Profile: United Kingdom
Trade has grown between the two countries over the last two decades. However, trade growth has been limited by the U.K.’s relatively weak growth compared to the global average in recent years, but the size of the country’s economy, and the historical relationship, provides a degree of upside.
April 28, 2025 • Commentary • 3-min read
Trade Partner Profile: China
In 2024, Canada exported $30 billion of products to China and imported $87 billion. China is Canada’s second largest trading partner, a long distance behind the United States. Canada’s trade deficit with China has increased steadily over the last two decades, swelling from $22 billion in 2005 to $57 billion in 2024.
April 22, 2025 • Commentary • 3-min read
Canada’s Changing Geopolitical Landscape: Rethinking Global Partnerships
As the United States adopts a more coercive diplomatic approach, Canada must reassess its global alliances. This timely webinar will explore the impacts of ongoing tariffs and what Canada can do to succeed in this evolving global landscape, and how Canada can adapt to form effective global partnerships and boost trade and investment.
April 14, 2025 • Webinar • 61-min listen
Trade Partner Profile: Japan
Overall, trade between Canada and Japan is relatively small, but there is room to grow. Japan is a net importer of energy and mining products; a need Canada can help fulfill. Meanwhile, Canada’s auto sector is facing challenges, which could provide an opportunity for Japanese trade and investment to help support Canada’s auto industry.
March 31, 2025 • Commentary • 2-min read
Trade Partner Profile: Mexico
Trade between Canada and Mexico remains limited, but current agreements under CUSMA provide a solid foundation for future growth. Moreover, the trade uncertainty brought about by tariff threats highlights the importance of strengthening bilateral ties and expanding direct trade networks between the two countries.
March 19, 2025 • Commentary • 2-min read
Trade Partner Profile: The European Union
Overall, trade between Canada and the European Union is already strong, and there is lots to build on as Canada enters a changing world. Canada sells many of its resources to Europe, and the bloc’s imports indicates there is even more room for Canadian exports to gain market share.
March 3, 2025 • Commentary • 2-min read
The Digital Dividend: The Economic Potential of Canada’s Data Sovereignty
Canada’s digital economy is expanding, but much of the infrastructure, capital, and platforms behind it are controlled abroad. Without a stronger approach to data sovereignty, Canada risks losing control not only of its data, but also of the intangible assets that increasingly drive innovation and economic growth.
March 17, 2026 • Commentary • 5-min listen
Canada’s Fiscal Outlook with Cory Renner and Richard Forbes
Deficits, debts, tariffs, trade, taxes, Trump …. Sorting through the fiscal picture for the country, while never easy, has become much more complicated in 2025. In this episode of Economic Matters, we discuss the pressure to meet our promises in areas like defence and infrastructure while recognizing the pressures that come with aging populations and growing debt loads.
June 23, 2025 • Podcast • 25-min listen
Re-building our Military Will be Expensive, but Create Opportunities
There are many challenges on the way to rebuilding Canada’s military. The first is fiscal, finding the required dollars will require hard choices. As well, potentially doubling or more the size of our military will create labour pressures in other industries. We will also need an industrial policy, to build up our domestic manufacturing capacity for a wide array of military products. And we don’t have the luxury of time to achieve these goals.
June 23, 2025 • Commentary • 13-min read
Middle Power Thinking: How Canada Needs to Engage with the World
Global relationships are in upheaval as the United States is now engaging in coercive diplomacy with former allies. In short, the US is directly using its economic and military power to force changes in the behaviour of others. Few countries face the implications of this change more acutely than Canada, but we are not alone in the world.
April 23, 2025 • Commentary • 15-min read
Public hope for private action: How much does Canada’s budget move the needle on prosperity?
Geopolitical tensions, trade wars and a change in posture from the United States have ushered in new thinking in Canada. The days of being a beneficiary of a reliable, transparent and predictable operating environment promised by U.S. leaderships looks to be behind us. Instead, the need for a self-determined destiny has taken national attention.
November 26, 2025 • Commentary • 14-min read
Opportunity Amid Disruption: Supporting Canada’s Strategic Industries
Canada’s economy is under attack. But tariffs are only part of the story. Our national prosperity is also threatened by the tectonic forces of climate and demographic change. The shifting environment calls for rethinking and reaffirming the foundations of Canada’s economic development.
August 18, 2025 • Commentary • 18-min read
Re-Investing in Canada: Strategies for Long-Term Prosperity
Canadians are confronting a new economic and geopolitical reality, one that calls for fresh thinking, bold investment, and a shared commitment to long-term prosperity. This free webinar will explore how renewed focus on industrial policy, resource development, and nation-building projects can reshape Canada’s economic future.
July 24, 2025 • Webinar • 62-min listen
Beyond Borders: A Simple Solution to Our Country’s Internal Trade Barriers
Canada has free trade agreements with 51 countries, and yet we have never been able to institute free trade within our own borders. United States President Donald Trump’s trade war may finally be the crisis that creates the political will to address this challenge. The easiest path to this end is to adopt a mutual recognition agreement, which would require provinces to accept the certifications of another.
February 25, 2025 • Op-ed • 4-min read
Other relevant research
Canada in a Changing World
During this time of uncertainty, we examine what Canada must do to not just survive, but thrive in this changing world.
How Canada Performs
Provides performance benchmarks for Canada and its provinces on a series of wicked problems that threaten its future.
