🎉 𝗢𝗻 𝗪𝗲𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗯𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝟭𝟬 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝗙𝗦𝗗 🎉 Over the past decade, IFSD has built a unique institution at the intersection of ideas and practice, and of fiscal policy and politics. Conducting independent public finance research, helping organizations tackle complex fiscal and policy challenges, building capacity through professional training, and contributing to the public dialogue around finance and public policy issues. A big thank you to everyone who has been part of our first ten years — and here's to the next ten!

𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗱𝗮’𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗳𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝟭𝟱 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆, 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘄𝗲 𝗯𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀? In a new piece for Policy Magazine, @IFSD_IFPD 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗞𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝗴𝗲 and @uOttawa student Abigail Sampson dig into two important parts of Canada’s fiscal picture: rising public debt charges and the growing role of non-budgetary transactions. Canada is not yet in a fiscal danger zone. But as public debt charges rise and the federal government makes greater use of non-budgetary transactions, it is important to look at the full picture of Canada’s public finances — and the long-term implications of today’s fiscal and budgetary choices. “𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘺, 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘬𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴, 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤 𝘥𝘦𝘣𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘯-𝘣𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘰𝘭𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵.” As Canada’s fiscal picture becomes both increasingly complex and challenging, it is more critical than ever that governments embrace fiscal transparency — or risk losing public confidence. Read 𝘽𝙪𝙙𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝙋𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬: 𝙂𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝘽𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙨 in @policy_mag 👉 policymagazine.ca/budget-202…

𝗚𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀. It’s about ensuring government has the people, capabilities and systems it needs to deliver results, while maintaining the confidence of the people it serves. @IPAC_IAPC invited @IFSD_IFPD Executive VP @sahir_yow to be a panelist for the IPAC 2026 session 𝘈 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯: 𝘔𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘎𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘉𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘛𝘢𝘹𝘱𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵. Sahir’s message included a challenge for the public service: 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲. Government needs to start from the outcomes it is trying to achieve, then ask whether its structures, workforce, capabilities and ways of working are actually equipped to deliver them. Savings and new technologies may be part of modernization, but they are not ends in themselves. Lasting reform needs to deliver better outcomes, strengthen accountability and build public confidence that transformation is delivering something better. To be successful, the public has to understand why transformation is necessary and see what it is delivering. 𝗔𝘀 𝗦𝗮𝗵𝗶𝗿 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱, 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗯𝘂𝘆-𝗶𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲, 𝗴𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲. #PublicService #GovernmentTransformation #PublicTrust #IFSD

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Kevin Page and @sahir_yow welcome another great group of financial officers to our IFSD 360 course. The course explores the full 360-degree view of how policy ideas become decisions, decisions become budgets, and budgets become results. Through practical exercises, case studies, and speakers with real-world experience, IFSD instructors help course participants connect their work in the public service to the broader policy, fiscal, and political landscape. #IFSD360 #PublicPolicy #PublicFinance #PublicService #Leadership

"𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘳, 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵, 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘹 𝘦𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘪𝘱𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘢𝘫𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘥𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘊𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘥𝘢." In a new article for Policy Magazine, IFSD President 𝗞𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝗴𝗲 and University of Ottawa student Abigail Sampson argue that Canada's next budget must focus on turning stabilization into stronger investment, productivity, growth, and resilience. The challenge isn't just attracting global capital into Canada. It's also creating the conditions for Canadian businesses, institutions, pension funds, and investors to put more capital to work at home. “𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘰𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦; 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘊𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘥𝘢’𝘴 𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘺.” This article is the latest in 𝗜𝗙𝗦𝗗'𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗲-𝗯𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀. In the weeks ahead, we'll explore more of the big questions shaping Budget 2026 through additional articles and upcoming episodes of 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 podcast. ✅ How can Canada attract new investment while getting more 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 and into the productive investments needed to drive growth, productivity, and resilience? ✅ What policies could boost productivity and competitiveness? ✅ How can governments strengthen economic resilience in a more uncertain world? ✅ How do we balance growth ambitions, economic transformation and fiscal sustainability? 📖 𝗕𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄: 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: policymagazine.ca/budget-202… 🎧 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 podcast: thepoliticsofmoney.ifsd.ca/ #Budget2026 #CdnPoli #PublicFinance #FiscalPolicy #Productivity #Investment #EconomicGrowth #EconomicResilience #IFSD

New report from @IFSD_IFPD: 𝗙𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆: 𝗔 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘀 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗱𝗮'𝘀 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗮𝗳𝗲𝘁𝘆 𝗡𝗲𝘁 𝗪𝗮𝘀 𝗡𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗲 Food insecurity is often treated as a food problem. But food insecurity is fundamentally a resource problem that tells us something important about how Canadians are actually doing, beyond what headline economic numbers can show. Our latest report, prepared for the The Maple Leaf Centre for Food Security, examines why food insecurity remains elevated among low-income and vulnerable populations despite growing social spending. As the report notes: "...𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯." Which raises a fundamental question: 𝗜𝗳 𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗻, 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁? 👀 Read the report: ifsd.ca/wp-content/uploads/2…

🇨🇦 𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐝𝐚 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭: 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐂𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐖𝐚𝐢𝐭 Canada hosted investors from around the world in an effort to attract $1 trillion in new investment. But the economic benefits, from stronger productivity and higher incomes to greater sovereignty, could take years. So how should Canadians measure progress in the meantime? 🎥 New from IFSD's 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺 🔗 Watch & Listen: thepoliticsofmoney.ifsd.ca/ #CanadaInvestmentSummit #PublicPolicy #Investment #CanadaEconomy

𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐘 𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐃𝐄 🇨🇦 Canada Investment Summit Preview: 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐝𝐚'𝐬 𝐆𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐌𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 As Canada prepares to host top global investors in Toronto, the conversation is no longer just about attracting capital. The challenge is turning investor interest into real projects, new jobs, productivity growth, and higher living standards in communities across the country. In our latest 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺 episode, IFSD Executive Vice-President Sahir Khan and Chief Economist Mostafa Askari are joined by Bud Locklear and Michelle Leslie to discuss investment opportunities at this pivotal moment for Canada's economy. Podcast digs into: ✅ Canada's foreign direct investment performance ✅ The high stakes of shifting Canada-U.S. economic relations ✅ Energy, critical minerals, infrastructure, nuclear, AI and manufacturing opportunities ✅ Project execution and decision-making speed matter as much as global investor interest ✅ How governments can move from announcements to approvals, construction, and long-term growth 📺 youtu.be/4B8tPeWxo5c 🎧 share.transistor.fm/s/0544c9…

There's growing pressure on the government to spend more in a number of areas. Defence. Infrastructure. Health care. Housing. Economic Development. Trade Diversification. But a big question often gets pushed aside: 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦? This clip from our 𝘗𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺 "𝐓𝐚𝐱𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐬" episode digs into why Canada struggles to have an honest conversation about taxation and the trade-offs involved in funding the public services and public investments Canadians want. And, maybe most importantly, the connection between taxes and trust. People are more willing to contribute when they believe Canada's public institutions are delivering results. But that trust becomes harder to sustain when outcomes fall short. As demands on government continue to grow, reconnecting spending priorities, performance, and how we pay for them may be one of the most important policy conversations facing Canada. 🎥 Watch the clip: youtube.com/shorts/LNfYiWEtd…