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1. Canada has lower job-growth, higher unemployment rate than U.S. over three years

   This Labour Day, while many Canadians and Americans spend time with friends and family, Canadian workers have less to celebrate than their American counterparts, as provincial labour markets have performed poorly compared to U.S. states ...

2. Want more automation? Then raise the minimum wage

   These days the phrase “rise of the machines” has taken on a new poignancy for some Canadians. Governments across Canada are giving low-skilled workers reason to worry their jobs will be replaced by machines—thanks to plans to hike the ...

3. Obstacles to business investment in Ontario—high labour costs

   A recent study by the Fraser Institute showed that weak business investment remains a serious problem for Ontario’s economy, with important implications for the province’s medium- and long-term growth prospects. While the provincial ...

4. Minimum wage hikes will hurt young people, immigrants

   Appeared in the Financial Post, Aug 2, 2017 With many of Canada’s largest provinces (Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia) either committing to or considering a minimum wage of $15 per hour, many analysts—including us—note that this policy will hurt many ...

5. Temporary replacement worker bans result in more strikes, longer strikes

   Banning businesses from using temporary replacement workers during a strike or lock-out has been the subject of recurring debate in Ottawa and various provincial capitals. For instance, bans were discussed—but ultimately not proposed—in ...

6. The evidence mounts—minimum wage hikes reduce job opportunities for vulnerable workers

   Many Canadian provinces have expressed a desire to hike their minimum wage to $15 per hour. Alberta has begun the process with incremental increases, Ontario has formally introduced a plan, and B.C.’s new government has mused about the ...

7. Banning temporary workers hurts workers by reducing wages and jobs

   In recent years, British Columbia has enjoyed comparatively strong economic performance, but a number of provincial government policies continue to hold back the economy, preventing British Columbians from enjoying even greater ...

8. Ontario’s planned $15 minimum wage will likely hurt young and low-skilled workers

   Ontario’s Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs is currently touring the province to get feedback on Bill 148, which proposes various amendments to the Employment Standards Act including, among other labour policy changes, a ...

9. Participation rates—good news, bad news or neutral news?

   Part of being a market-oriented economist—and is there really any other kind?—is learning not to have the same reaction to economic news that everybody else does. For instance, this week StatCan published a short study on “The impact of ...

10. Minimum wage hikes in Ontario likely means lower youth employment

    Premier Wynne’s government recently announced a plan to hike Ontario’s minimum wage by 32 per cent, from its current rate of $11.40 to $15 by 2019. We’ve already written that such a large and rapid increase in the minimum wage is likely ...