On December 11, the Macdonald-Laurier Institute hosted a panel in Ottawa as part of its ongoing research series on Government Productivity and Value for Money.
In a panel moderated by Peter Copeland, deputy director of domestic policy at MLI, Philip Cross, MLI Senior Fellow, Michael Keenan, Deputy Minister of Transportation, Tim Sargent, director of domestic policy at MLI, and Stephen Tapp, CEO and chief economist at the Centre for the Study of Living Standards, shared insights from the third report in the series: The provincial productivity crisis.
The discussion provided a detailed look at how Canada’s provincial governments compare in size, spending, compensation, and productivity, highlighting which jurisdictions deliver the greatest value for taxpayers and which lag behind. Panellists explored the implications for fiscal federalism, decentralization, and regional competitiveness, while also considering how annual updates and evidence-based measurement can inform future reforms and strengthen accountability, efficiency, and long-term prosperity.
