Reforming Canada’s healthcare systems in order to make private provision accessible within the public health insurance scheme would help improve access to care for Canadian patients, recommends this MEI Research Paper. “The best performing universal healthcare systems in the world are not those where the public sector has a monopoly,” says Professor Marcel Boyer, distinguished senior fellow at the MEI and author of the paper.

Canada is burning through its young nurses at an alarming rate as healthcare systems across the country struggle to retain them, reveals this MEI publication. “For every 100 nurses under 35 who registered to practise in the country, 40 other young nurses did not renew their registration in 2023,” said Emmanuelle B. Faubert, economist at the MEI and author of the report.

In this MEI ranking on the determinants of social mobility – referring to one’s ability to climb-up the socio-economic ladder – no Canadian province scored a 60 per cent or above. “Social mobility is what makes the difference between having agency in moving up the income ladder, or being stuck in inherited poverty,” said Justin Callais, associate researcher at the MEI and co-author of the report.

Once the undisputed champion of corporate welfare, Quebec is now outspent by Ontario, according to this MEI study. “High corporate taxes counterbalanced by high spending on subsidies has long been Quebec’s strategy for developing its economy, with lots of ribbon-cutting, but little in terms of actual results to show for it,” says Samantha Dagres, communications manager at the MEI and author of the report.

The number of patients leaving Quebec’s emergency rooms without being treated is rising, reveals this MEI report. “These patients are not leaving because they feel better, but because the system is failing them,” says Emmanuelle B. Faubert, economist at the MEI and author of the report. “Thousands of Quebecers are being denied access to care each year.”

Giving companies more autonomy to manage forest operations, as proposed in Bill 97, would improve the efficiency and predictability of the industry, according to this MEI report. “The centralization of the management of forest operations in the Department of Natural Resources and Forests has undermined the forestry sector’s ability to adapt,” explains Gabriel Giguère, senior policy analyst at the MEI and author of the report.

Alberta could see better student outcomes and higher parental satisfaction by making the charter school option more accessible, finds this MEI report. “Alberta is the only Canadian province to allow charter schools, which form an integral part of its pluralistic, market-driven education system,” says Emmanuelle B. Faubert, economist at the MEI and co-author of the report.

As Ottawa holds consultations for its next federal budget, the MEI is urging the government to chart a different course by cutting spending, reviewing costly new programs, and reducing the regulatory burden that has weighed down the economy. “Canada’s economy is stagnant, and its fiscal outlook is grim,” says Gabriel Giguère, senior public policy analyst at the MEI.

Privatizing Canada Post and opening up the sector to competition would result in better services and lower prices for Canadians, shows this MEI publication. “Canadians are held hostage by a postal system that is inefficient, strike-prone, and, increasingly, financially non-viable,” says Vincent Geloso, senior economist at the MEI and co-author of the report.

Federal impact assessments should be fair, transparent, and swift for all projects, not just the few favoured by Ottawa under Bill C-5, states the MEI in this publication. “Bill C-5 is a clear admission that the current project approval process is broken,” says Krystle Wittevrongel, director of research at the MEI and author of the report.