Canada’s Approach: A Model for the Global Community

Canada’s commitment to inclusive growth and its ambitious plan to revitalize its economy, foster long-term growth and strengthen the middle class provides a model for the international community. Central to this plan is Canada’s continued commitment to diversity, immigration and global investment.

Canada’s approach recognizes that there are no quick and easy solutions to fostering, broadly-shared growth, which is why its government is using a broad set of policy levers. It began by taking steps to create fairer income distribution through the provision of direct income support. Benefits for low- and middleincome families with children were increased, which is expected to reduce the number of children living in poverty by roughly 40 per cent. Income taxes have also been reduced for nearly nine million middle-class Canadians.

The government has taken important steps to reinvigorate growth, starting with increased investment in public infrastructure; redoubling of efforts to attract foreign capital through the establishment of a new agency, the Invest in Canada Hub; and changes to Canada’s immigration system to provide faster access to top global talent. New investments in infrastructure totaling $95 billion will boost economic growth and social inclusion by reducing traffic congestion and commute times, and by providing more affordable housing. A new institution, the

Canada Infrastructure Bank, will be set up to focus on attracting private capital to spur innovative funding and financing for infrastructure projects. This bank will work with governments and investors to provide better results for middle-class Canadians by identifying potential projects and investment opportunities that contribute to larger economic, social and environmental returns.

The Government of Canada has also introduced important measures to advance gender equality. Budget 2016 included new investments in Status of Women Canada — a government agency that promotes equality for women and their full participation in the economic, social and democratic life of the country — to enhance its capacity to provide government-wide support on the gender-based analysis of programs, policies, and legislation.

Canada is changing the way it looks at the performance of its economy by adopting a new lens that measures progress differently, placing greater weight on broad-based gains rather than strict economic measurements that might miss the bigger picture. This new perspective combines metrics like job creation with equally important outcomes like quality of life, job satisfaction, poverty reduction and access to opportunities.

Canada recognizes that the public and private sectors must work together to help create conditions for success. In March 2016, Canada’s Minister of Finance announced the creation of an Advisory Council on Economic Growth to focus on policy actions that generate strong and sustained long-term growth that is shared across income groups. The Council has used the World Economic Forum’s Framework for Inclusive Growth to evaluate the implications of its recommendations for inclusiveness.