Stauffer-Dunning Fellow Don Drummond writes in the Globe and Mail with Colin Busby and Alexandre Laurin that the November 4, 2025 federal Budget does little to address Canada’s trade and productivity woes but leaves a fiscal vulnerability – as far out as 2050 according to a budget projection.
Read the Globe and Mail article here (subscription required).
In this Globe & Mail opinion piece, Acting Director Eugene Lang and MPA Candidate Brigid Waddingham argue the federal government executive class has become unjustifiably bloated over the past decade, leading to inefficiencies in decision making and in execution. They argue the executive class needs to be significantly reduced as the government focusses on cutting the overall size of the public service.
Date
Thursday November 27, 2025Location
Robert Sutherland Hall, Room 334Abstract: Much has been said about diminishing support for immigration in Canada. In this talk, Mireille Paquet will argue that this might not be the most important story about immigration policy and politics in Canada right now. Instead of focusing on attitudes, she will highlight several policy trends that should receive more attention, including growing administrative backlogs, poor regulation of migration industries, and the aging technological infrastructure of the immigration department. While scholars have yet to decide whether attitudinal changes will be long-lasting or determine their consequences for immigration politics, Mireille believes these structural issues in Canada's immigration system are likely to shape our future in ways that are not discussed enough.
Mireille Paquet is professor and Concordia Research Chair on the Politics of Immigration at Concordia University. An expert in Canadian immigration politics, she is also the author of several books and articles on comparative migration politics. She is the Concordia lead for the pan-Canadian Bridging Divides project and a lead for the Réseau de recherche Québécois de la recherche sur l’immigration, l’intégration et les relations interculturelles.
Don Drummond has published a new briefing paper as part of the School of Public Policy Paper Series published by the University of Calgary.
Tax Reform to Raise Canada's Pitiful Productivity discusses the ways that the proposed series of targeted tax reforms could contribute to increased productivity across the nation.
Some fiscal authorities who normally advocate prudence claim Canada has fiscal room it should use in the November 4th budget. The argument rests on Canada having a lower net debt burden than other developed countries. But some of those already face pressure to raise taxes and slash spending. The article suggests a better strategy is to reallocate within taxes and spending to focus on promoting economic growth.
Don Drummond is the Stauffer-Dunning Fellow and Adjunct Professor at the School of Policy Studies at Queen’s University.
Prime Minister Carney promised the November 4th Budget will deliver “a competitive corporate income tax system.” Yet the measures in the Liberal Election Platform fall far short of that goal. Stauffer-Dunning Fellow Don Drummond describes the bolder moves needed in new piece published by the C.D. Howe Institute.
Date
Thursday November 20, 2025Location
Robert Sutherland Hall, Room 202Join us for an engaging talk with The Honourable Bob Rae, PC, 25th Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations, 21st Premier of Ontario, and former member of Parliament.
This event is free and open to all Queen's students, faculty, and staff, and members of the public. Light refreshments provided.
Date
Thursday November 6, 2025Location
Robert Sutherland Hall Room 202Join Kevin G. Lynch and James R. Mitchell for the launch for their new book, A New Blueprint for Government: Reshaping Power, the PMO, and the Public Service (University of Regina Press, 2025).
The discussion will be moderated by Margaret Biggs, SPS Matthews Fellow in Global Public Policy.
Abstract:
Is the Canadian government contributing to its own underperformance? An insider’s guide to steering our nation toward greater efficiency.
Canada is struggling. Our growth is anemic, our standard of living is stagnant, our housing is unaffordable, and our health care system is nearing a breaking point. To make matters worse, the government fails to deliver core services and avoid management fiascos like the ArriveCan and Phoenix scandals.
These failures are systemic and interconnected. What connects them is a fatal flaw in how the federal government operates, makes decisions, and takes action. Power has shifted from Cabinet to the Prime Minister and Prime Minister’s Office, with political staff taking on a larger role relative to the Public Service, and parliament has lost its ability to call the elected government to account.
With 50 years of combined experience in leadership positions in government, authors Lynch and Mitchell offer an expert’s perspective on how to restore accountability and rebuild a culture of excellence by proposing a new blueprint for reshaping government. As Canadians face uncertainties at home and abroad, these practical and straightforward recommendations offer a path forward to ensure our nation’s prosperity.
Kevin Lynch, who hails from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, started his career at the Bank of Canada. This led to a 33-year career in government that included leadership roles as Clerk of the Privy Council, Deputy Minister of Finance, and Deputy Minister of Industry. Post government, Dr. Lynch served as Vice Chair of BMO, was active on numerous corporate and not-for-profit boards, and still writes and speaks frequently on public policy issues.
James (Jim) Mitchell, who was raised in Regina, Saskatchewan, has worked as an academic, a senior public servant, and a consultant. He served 17 years in government, first as a diplomat and then as a senior official in the Privy Council Office and the Treasury Board Secretariat. Over the years he has published articles on public policy and public management and has given numerous lectures and speeches to Public Service and university audiences.
Margaret Biggs is a Matthews Fellow in Global Public Policy at Queen’s University and a Nonresident Senior Fellow in the Global Economy and Development program at the Brookings Institution. She is the former President of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and immediate past Chair of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC). Ms. Biggs is active on numerous not-for-profit boards in the foreign policy and governance fields.
Date
Wednesday November 5, 2025Location
Robert Sutherland Hall, Room 202Join us for an engaging discussion with Karen Hogan, the Auditor General of Canada. Ms. Hogan will share insights into her role and speak about how her most recent reports support parliamentarians in their oversight role of holding the government to account.
Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions directly to the Auditor General during the session.
Karen Hogan first joined the Office of the Auditor General of Canada in 2006 and subsequently served as Assistant Auditor General until her appointment as Auditor General of Canada in June 2020. Ms. Hogan began her career as an auditor in the private sector and has since accumulated over 30 years of professional accounting and auditing experience. Ms. Hogan is a Fellow of CPA Ontario and Quebec.
All are welcome.
