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🇨🇦's food insecurity crisis is growing ➤  About 𝟏 𝐢𝐧 𝟒 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬 & 𝟐.𝟓 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧 are food insecure As affordability concerns continue to dominate politics, our latest episode of 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺 brings together leading experts to explore a key question facing Canada's policy makers: 👉 Why doesn't Canada’s social safety net prevent food insecurity? 💬 "Food insecurity isn't a food issue—it's a resource issue" 🎧: share.transistor.fm/s/3493f0…

🚨 New 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺 episode: 𝐅𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐝𝐚—𝐚 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐞 👉 About 𝟏 𝐢𝐧 𝟒 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬 living food insecure 👉 Around 𝟐.𝟓 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧 👉 Growing use of food banks by working Canadians 𝐒𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧? Canada’s safety net isn’t keeping up — because it wasn't built to address food insecurity. In our latest podcast episode, IFSD engages leading experts to unpack the issue. @IFSD_IFPD Managing Director Helaina Gaspard speaks with Valerie Tarasuk (Professor Emerita, University of Toronto), Craig Gundersen (Snee Family Endowed Professor, Baylor University), Jennifer Robson (Associate Professor, Political Management, Carleton University), and Sarah Stern (Executive Director, Maple Leaf Centre for Food Security). Their discussion digs into: ➤ Why food bank use is rising—even among employed households ➤ The limits of existing supports like EI and the Canada Child Benefit ➤ Why responsiveness, timing, and targeting of income supports matter ➤ What lessons Canada could draw from programs like SNAP in the U.S. 👉 At its core, the challenge is this: How do we design a social safety net that actually prevents food insecurity—rather than responds after the fact? 🎧 Listen now on your favourite podcast app: thepoliticsofmoney.ifsd.ca/e… 📺 Watch on YouTube: youtu.be/CMigYkL3f7U?si=bcDE…

"Trump is taking a victory lap for his own trade war." @policy_mag Columns, @Lisa_VanDusen with "Donald Trump’s New Conflict of Interest: The Canadian Economy" bit.ly/4uNh6Dn #cdnpoli #Trump #CUSMA

"The decline coincides with the 2025 inauguration of President Trump." @policy_mag Specials @IFSD_IFPD's Kevin Page with "‘Technical Recession’, the Backstory: Why has the Canadian Economy Flatlined?" bit.ly/4dNwU35 #cdnpoli

Since Donald Trump became President... 🇨🇦's economy has been responding to large economic shocks. "Businesses and investors are in a holding pattern. The lyrics resonate: ‘𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘐 𝘢𝘮; 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘣.” [@IFSD_IFPD President 𝗞𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝗴𝗲 in his latest @policy_mag piece] 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘄𝗶𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗱𝗮 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 (𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹) 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻. But focussing on labels risks missing what's really happening underneath. Our economy isn’t collapsing. ➡️ 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗸. > “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘢 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵’𝘴 𝘊𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘥𝘢 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘦.” So far, Canadians have largely shown confidence in the government's plan. But in a weak economy, confidence is fragile — "𝘉𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘺, 𝘢 𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦." 📊 As the chart below shows, (to borrow from Pink Floyd) we may not be in acute pain — but the economy risks becoming 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘣. 📖 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗞𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗻’𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝗶𝘀: policymagazine.ca/technical-…

New in @policy_mag from IFSD's Kevin Page...Why has the economy flatlined? 1) "Comfortably numb": businesses and investors are in a holding pattern. 2) What to do: "Let’s work the problem. Let’s not make it worse by guessing". 3) The challenge will be execution: “the best way out is always through”. #cdnpoli policymagazine.ca/technical-…

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗕𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴'𝘀 𝗙𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗨𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 — 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸. The next test will be the 𝗳𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗕𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘁 — and the answer to the question: 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗱𝗮 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻? Since Donald Trump became President, Canada has been responding to large shocks to our economy. In the fall budget, the government outlined their response plan: • boost foreign and domestic capital investment • improve productivity • diversify trade • build economic capacity In the Spring Fiscal Update, the signals were clear: growth continues to be weak. The government included a downside recession scenario (that was largely overlooked.) 👉 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗲𝗹𝘀. 👉 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 —and if progress is being made... I𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴? 𝗜𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗱? Because in a weak economy— 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗹𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴.

With rising global uncertainty and conflict, Canada has committed to significantly increasing defence spending through 2035. @IFSD_IFPD President Kevin Page is quoted in a new Canadian Press story today highlighting an important distinction: 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 🇨🇦 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘀—𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝘄. Current fiscal projections don’t yet show a detailed path to that target. For major, long-term commitments of this scale, 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀: 👉 It supports 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗱𝗲𝗯𝗮𝘁𝗲 👉 It clarifies the 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 of investments 👉 It reinforces confidence in 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴-𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺 𝗳𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 As Kevin points out, long-term plans around things like military procurement will change over time. The government can then revise its projections as conditions evolve. This reflects a core public finance principle: 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗵 𝗳𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆—𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝘀. 🔗 Read more: halifax.citynews.ca/2026/05/…

Alberta ( 2.6%) and Ontario ( 1.4%) led gains among nine provinces, but Quebec declined 0.8%. E-commerce sales increased 1.5%

Les ventes au détail ont augmenté de 0,9 % en mars, mais ont reculé de 0,7 % en volume. Les ventes des stations-service et des détaillants de carburant ont bondi de 12,4 %. Le PIB immédiat @IFSD_IFPD 2026T1 est à 1,8 % (t/t, annualisé).

March retail sales rose 0.9% in dollar terms, but dropped 0.7% in volume. Sales at gasoline stations and fuel vendors jumped 12.4%, while core retail sales slipped 0.1%. Quarterly sales were up 2.1% (1.2% in volume). The @IFSD_IFPD 2026Q1 Nowcast is 1.8% (q/q, annualized).