Canada's Economy, Explained

Canadian Chamber of Commerce | Business Data Lab
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Canada’s Economy, Explained is the official podcast of the Business Data Lab at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, hosted by Senior Research Director Marwa Abdou. Whether you’re a business leader, policymaker, or simply curious about the forces shaping our economy, this podcast brings you real-time data, sharp analysis, and conversations that matter. From workforce trends and inflation to trade, innovation, and inclusion, we unpack the stories behind the stats — with leading economists, industry voices, and fresh perspectives. Timely. Insightful. Unfiltered. This is where Canada’s economy gets explained.

  1. Postal Codes and Power: Who Gets to Grow Canada’s Economy? Part II with Ken Coates

    3D AGO

    Postal Codes and Power: Who Gets to Grow Canada’s Economy? Part II with Ken Coates

    What if economic growth is real but only in certain places?  In this special two-part episode, we move beyond headline GDP to examine the territorial foundations of economic development. Guest Dr. Andrés Rodríguez-Pose, Princesa de Asturias Chair in Economic Geography at the London School of Economics, and Director of the Cañada Blanch Centre, draws on decades of research to explain how regions fall into what he calls a development trap. These are not necessarily the poorest places. They are often middle-income regions that once thrived and are now quietly falling behind. Policy concentrates investment in major hubs and assumes spillovers will follow — the evidence suggests otherwise.   In part one, host Marwa Abdou and Dr. Rodríguez-Pose explore the limits of place-neutral policy, the risks of betting national growth on a handful of metropolitan centers, and why institutions, not just markets, determine long-run prosperity.   In part two, Dr. Ken Coates, Distinguished Fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute and Professor of Indigenous Governance at Yukon University, brings the Canadian terrain into focus. From resource regions to Indigenous governance and northern economies, we examine how institutional capacity, local ownership and mobilizing latent potential shape opportunity across a vast federation.  Because when capability clusters by postal code, growth stops being a national statistic and becomes a question of power. Links:- Ken Coates - Distinguished Fellow in Aboriginal and Northern Canadian Issues, Macdonald-Laurier Institute- “The Provincial North is the Centrepiece of Canadian Nation-Building" by Ken Coates for the Globe & Mail - #IdleNoMore And the Remaking of Canada by Ken Coates- Google Scholar - Ken S. Coates

    52 min
  2. Postal Codes and Power: Who Gets to Grow Canada’s Economy? Part I with Andrés Rodríguez-Pose

    4D AGO

    Postal Codes and Power: Who Gets to Grow Canada’s Economy? Part I with Andrés Rodríguez-Pose

    What if economic growth is real but only in certain places?  In this special two-part episode, we move beyond headline GDP to examine the territorial foundations of economic development. Guest Dr. Andrés Rodríguez-Pose, Princesa de Asturias Chair in Economic Geography at the London School of Economics, and Director of the Cañada Blanch Centre, draws on decades of research to explain how regions fall into what he calls a development trap. These are not necessarily the poorest places. They are often middle-income regions that once thrived and are now quietly falling behind. Policy concentrates investment in major hubs and assumes spillovers will follow — the evidence suggests otherwise.   In part one, host Marwa Abdou and Dr. Rodríguez-Pose explore the limits of place-neutral policy, the risks of betting national growth on a handful of metropolitan centers, and why institutions, not just markets, determine long-run prosperity.   In part two, Dr. Ken Coates, Distinguished Fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute and Professor of Indigenous Governance at Yukon University, brings the Canadian terrain into focus. From resource regions to Indigenous governance and northern economies, we examine how institutional capacity, local ownership and mobilizing latent potential shape opportunity across a vast federation.  Because when capability clusters by postal code, growth stops being a national statistic and becomes a question of power. Links:- Andrés Rodríguez-Pose – London School of Economics  - Cañada-Blanch Centre at LSE  - The Revenge of the Places that Don’t Matter by Andrés Rodríguez-Pose   - The Case for Regional Development Intervention: Place-Based vs Place-Neutral Approaches by Fabrizio Barca, Philip McCann, and Andrés Rodríguez-Pose - Do Institutions Matter for Regional Development? by Andrés Rodríguez-Pose - What Kind of Local and Regional Development and for Whom? By Andy Pike, Andrés Rodríguez-Pose, & John Tomaney

    57 min
  3. Running Hard, Standing Still: The Productivity Problem Canada Can’t Outgrow with Paul Beaudry & Dan Breznitz

    FEB 24

    Running Hard, Standing Still: The Productivity Problem Canada Can’t Outgrow with Paul Beaudry & Dan Breznitz

    Canada isn’t short on talent, research or ideas. Yet living standards are under pressure, and productivity growth has slowed. What is really holding the economy back?  In this extended episode, host Marwa Abdou brings together two leading economists for a rare back-to-back look at the productivity puzzle from both a macroeconomic and innovation perspective.  Paul Beaudry, Professor at the Vancouver School of Economics and former Bank of Canada Deputy Governor, reframes productivity as a measure of value, not effort, and challenges the assumption that more education and labour force growth automatically translate into stronger outcomes. Dan Breznitz, Co-Director of the University of Toronto’s Innovation Policy Lab, pushes the conversation further, arguing that invention alone does not create prosperity. What matters is whether economies build the capacity to scale ideas, diffuse technology and embed innovation inside real firms.  Their insights point to a deeper tension: Canada’s challenge may not be a lack of ambition but a gap between what the country knows how to produce and what it is structured to use. It’s a timely conversation about economic design, competitiveness and the choices that could determine whether Canada pulls ahead or stands still. Links:- Paul Beaudry – Vancouver School of Economics, University of British Columbia - Dan Breznitz - Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, University of Toronto - Demographics and recent productivity performance: insights from cross-country comparisons by Paul Beaudry, David A. Green, Fabrice Collard - The Great Reversal in the Demand for Skill and Cognitive Tasks by Paul Beaudry, David A. Green, Benjamin M. Sand - Innovation in Real Places: Strategies for Prosperity in an Unforgiving World by Dan Breznitz - Canada’s Productivity Gap Is a Vulnerability We Must Fix - Business Data Lab  Other Resources:- Canada 2025 Article IV Consultation Staff Report - Productivity Growth in Canada: What is Going On? - Tim Sargent, School of Public Policy - Canada’s Productivity Challenge: The Hidden Costs of Resource Abundance and U.S. Dependence - Julien Martin, School of Public Policy - We Need to Get Going on Canada’s Four-Alarm Productivity Emergency – CD Howe Institute - Canada’s Investment Crisis: Shrinking Capital Undermines Competitiveness and Wages – CD Howe Institute - The Role of Firm Size in the Canada–U.S. Labour Productivity Gap Since 2000 - Statistics Canada

    1h 32m
  4. The Limits of Prediction: What 2025 Taught Us and the Constraints Shaping 2026

    FEB 10

    The Limits of Prediction: What 2025 Taught Us and the Constraints Shaping 2026

    Welcome to Season 2 of Canada’s Economy, Explained! Host Marwa Abdou opens the season by stepping back from the usual ritual of economic forecasting to ask a more fundamental question: What happens when the systems shaping our economy are tested in real time? Before looking ahead to 2026, this episode examines what the past year revealed about the limits of prediction, the persistence of economic constraints, and the growing gap between intention and institutional capacity. Because economies do not run on data alone. They run on decisions. And those decisions ultimately shape trust. Marwa is joined by returning guest Andrew DiCapua, Principal Economist at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, who shares his six economic predictions for the year ahead, from interest rates and trade to business investment, consumption and consumer sentiment. Together, they explore why the outlook may be more conditional than certain, and why stability on paper does not always translate into confidence on the ground. But this conversation goes beyond forecasts. It introduces the central lens for the season: How power operates within the economy, who sets the rules and whether Canada’s systems are prepared to deliver on the ambitions they signal. If last season focused on the importance of trust, this season asks what makes trust possible. Because in a world of finite resources, the future is not simply predicted. It is chosen. Links:- 8 Predictions for Canada’s Economy in 2025 - BDLNow – Data Driven Prediction of the Canada’s Economy - 6 Predictions for Canada's Economy in 2026

    56 min
  5. The Labour Market Reckoning: Innovation and the Future of Canadian Competitiveness with Minh Tri Dang and Karla Congson

    12/09/2025

    The Labour Market Reckoning: Innovation and the Future of Canadian Competitiveness with Minh Tri Dang and Karla Congson

    In this special episode, recorded live at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s AGM and Convention, host Marwa Abdou speaks with Minh Tri Dang, Senior Vice President of Strategy and Finance at Wilson, and Karla Congson, CEO and Founder of Agentiiv, about the intersection of work, leadership, and innovation at a critical moment for Canada’s economy. Technology is advancing faster than our ability to build the skills and leadership models needed to use it well. Nowhere is this more evident than in the rise of AI. Organizations that treat AI as a simple technological upgrade, rather than a shift in culture and capability, will struggle to remain competitive in a market that rewards adaptability, not just adoption. Marwa, Minh, and Karla examine what this means on the ground. They explore how the labour market is already being reshaped, and why the decline in entry-level roles is creating broken rungs in the career ladder. The traditional pathways that once helped young workers gain experience are narrowing, and the implications for opportunity and mobility are significant. All three agree on one thing: Canada needs a coordinated national workforce strategy that connects skills, innovation, and inclusion. Without it, the country risks falling behind at a time when the pace of change is accelerating. Links:- Canadian Labour & Staffing Journal - Agentiiv

    50 min
  6. Show Me the Money: Tax, Infrastructure and Who Pays? with Heather Scoffield

    11/25/2025

    Show Me the Money: Tax, Infrastructure and Who Pays? with Heather Scoffield

    Taxes shape more than government revenue. They shape trust. In this episode, host Marwa Abdou sits down with Heather Scoffield, founding CEO of the Canadian Tax Observatory, to explore how Canada’s tax and fiscal systems influence the country’s ability to build, grow and compete. Together, they unpack the tensions inside the 2025 Federal Budget, from the renewed focus on large-scale capital projects to the difficult choices around fiscal discipline, human capital, and long-term productivity. Heather explains why a modern industrial strategy must include people as much as physical infrastructure, and why simplifying parts of Canada’s tax system could strengthen the relationship between taxpayers and government. This conversation goes beyond line items and budget tables. It is a look at how Canada funds its ambitions, how those decisions affect households and businesses, and what a credible, sustainable path to shared prosperity might require. Links:- Heather Scoffield - Bricks and mortar build out the federal balance sheet - Canadian Tax Observatory

    1h 11m
  7. Who Gets to Work? Immigration and Labour Policy in Canada with Mikal Skuterud

    11/18/2025

    Who Gets to Work? Immigration and Labour Policy in Canada with Mikal Skuterud

    Canada’s immigration system isn’t one program; it’s an entire architecture. A maze of pathways, permits, and policies that shape who gets in, who gets to work, and who gets to stay. In this episode, host Marwa Abdou sits down with Dr. Mikal Skuterud, Professor of Economics at the University of Waterloo, and one of Canada’s leading labour economists, to unpack what he calls the country’s two-step system, where people arrive on temporary status before transitioning, often uncertainly, to permanent residency. Together, they explore the unintended consequences of a capless temporary system that neither fulfills the promise of permanence made to immigrants nor strategically addresses Canada’s deeper economic gaps. Their conversation challenges a familiar narrative: That immigration success can be measured by sheer numbers or GDP growth alone. Instead, they argue that immigration policy should be guided by a different goal — higher living standards for everyone. That means aligning inflows with investment in housing, healthcare and productivity, and ensuring immigration fuels tomorrow’s innovation rather than simply today’s labour shortages. This is an episode about recalibrating ambition and rethinking how Canada’s immigration system can match the scale of its promise. Links:- Mikal Skuterud, University of Waterloo - Mikal Skuterud, C.D. Howe Institute - A Realistic Strategy to Wean Canadian Businesses Off Low-Skill Foreign Labour - The Growing Data Gap on Canada’s Temporary Resident Workforce - Optimizing Immigration for Economic Growth by Matthew Doyle, Mikal Skuterud, and Christopher Worswick - The economic case against low-wage temporary foreign workers by Fabian Lange, Mkal Skutrud & Christopher Worswick, IRPP Other Resources:- Are Immigrants Particularly Entrepreneurial? Policy Lessons from a Selective Immigration System by David Green- How does increasing immigration affect the economy?- From Roots to Routes: Immigrant Entrepreneurs and How they are Shaping Canada’s Trade Future- Trends in education–occupation mismatch among recent immigrants with a bachelor’s degree or higher, 2001 to 2021- Canada is Wasting the Talents of its Skilled Immigrants

    1h 26m
  8. Blueprints for a Rooted Economy: Indigenomics with Carol Anne Hilton

    10/28/2025

    Blueprints for a Rooted Economy: Indigenomics with Carol Anne Hilton

    What’s the greatest comeback Canada has never seen?   According to special guest Carol Ann Hilton, Founder and CEO of the Indigenomics Institute, it’s re-centering Indigenous economic power and Indigenous participation. But part of that re-centering requires acknowledging that Canada was formed through Indigenous economic and cultural exclusion and that this exclusion has an impacted all Canadians, even generations far removed from the Indian Act.  In this episode, host Marwa Abdou and Carol Anne Hilton unpack Indigenomics: a framework for redesigning economic systems around reciprocity, responsibility, and relationship to land. Together they explore how 150 years of exclusion produced today’s inequalities, why corporate Canada has a duty under Truth and Reconciliation Call to Action 92, and what it means to build economies where land is law, stewardship is strategy, and growth is measured through shared prosperity.  Their conversation flows from examples of how Indigenous businesses operate from fundamentally different values, prioritizing community, future generations, and responsibility, all the way to the radical concept of "land as law" — starting with responsibility rather than impact assessment — and its role in reshaping infrastructure development. From clean energy and procurement reform to “land as governance,” this episode challenges listeners to rethink what reconciliation looks like — not as ceremony, but as economic design.  Links:- Carol Anne Hilton, Indigenomics Institute  - Indigenomics: Taking a Seat at the Economic Table (2021)  - The Rise of Indigenous Economic Power (2025) Other Resources:- Sharing the Wealth: How Resource Revenue Agreements Can Rebalance Canada’s Economy by Ken Coates - Living Rhythms: Lessons in Aboriginal Economic Resilience and Vision by Wanda Wuttunee - Upholding Indigenous Economic Relationships: nehiyawak narratives by Shalene Jobin - Resilience, Reciprocity and Ecological Economics Northwest Coast Sustainability by Ronald Trosper - What Can Tribes Do? Strategies and Institutions in American Indian Economic Development by Stephen Cornell and Joseph P. Kalt  - Economic Aspects of the Indigenous Experience in Canada by Anya Hageman and Pauline Galoustian

    1h 7m
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About

Canada’s Economy, Explained is the official podcast of the Business Data Lab at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, hosted by Senior Research Director Marwa Abdou. Whether you’re a business leader, policymaker, or simply curious about the forces shaping our economy, this podcast brings you real-time data, sharp analysis, and conversations that matter. From workforce trends and inflation to trade, innovation, and inclusion, we unpack the stories behind the stats — with leading economists, industry voices, and fresh perspectives. Timely. Insightful. Unfiltered. This is where Canada’s economy gets explained.

Information

  • Creator
    Canadian Chamber of Commerce | Business Data Lab
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    25
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Canadian Chamber of Commerce
  • Show Website
    Canada's Economy, Explained

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