Policy Topics | Policy Briefings

COLLAPSE

• Agriculture
• Biotechnology
• Defence & Security
• Environment
• Finance
• Fisheries and Oceans

• Foreign Policy​
• Health
• Industry and Manufacturing
• Infrastructure and Transport
• Innovation
• Intergovernmental

• Indigenous Relations
• Justice
• Labour & Employment
• Lobbying
• Natural Resources and Energy
• Women, Gender and Diversity

Canada’s defence pact with Indonesia a modest but necessary first step in the Indo-Pacific

Defence & SecurityBY JONATHAN BERKSHIRE MILLER

• Canada’s recently-signed memorandum of understanding on defence cooperation with Indonesia should be a first step on a longer journey, and not a box-ticking exercise

Canada should not need more red flags to prepare for extreme weather

EnvironmentBY BLAIR FELTMATE

Canada needs ‘eyes wide open’ approach to China amid diversification efforts, say observers 

Foreign PolicyBY NEIL MOSS

AI literacy as a Canadian policy imperative

InnovationBY DAVID MATSINHE

Canada overlooking a key aspect in adapting to climate change at our peril

EnvironmentBY JO-ELLEN PARRY

Nation building needs nation builders

Infrastructure and TransportBY VINCENT CUSTODE

Africa needs more than a ‘change the map’ campaign 

Foreign PolicyBY GWYNNE DYER

Candidates ‘unchallenged’ and ‘uncovered’ in federal election as a fallout of dying local media: report

Election 2025BY ELEANOR WAND

A broken promise, yet again: Why Canada needs national pharmacare now

HealthBY BERNARD HO

MOST RECENT POLICY BRIEFINGS

Legislative Look Ahead

• DOWNLOAD

Building a New Canada: Infrastructure & Procurement

• DOWNLOAD

Indigenous Relations

• DOWNLOAD

• VIEW ALL POLICY BRIEFINGS

Trump’s delusional pitch for the Nobel Peace Prize 

Foreign PolicyBY GWYNNE DYER

• The truth is that both Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy privately view Donald Trump with contempt, and neither will sign up to a premature

Belgium marks national day

Foreign PolicyBY SAM GARCIA

Peru flies its flag

Foreign PolicyBY SAM GARCIA

De Gaulle’s ‘Vive le Quebec libre!’ haunts Canada

IntergovernmentalBY GERRY NICHOLLS

While we build a nation, let’s not forget the children who will inherit it

HealthBY ANDREW REDDIN

‘The honeymoon period will be over’: politicos expect high bar for Carney’s first budget, and omnibus-bill headaches

FinanceBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

From mandates to momentum

PolicyBY PETER COPELAND

Public opinion is the real opposition

Foreign PolicyBY DARRELL BRICKER

Canada should eliminate its supply management system—with or without Trump

AgricultureBY ALEX WHALEN, JAKE FUSS

AGRICULTURE

Carney: don’t gamble with Canada’s food security

OpinionBY MILTON DYCK

Rural Canada: a national barometer and strategic economic imperative

OpinionBY JACQUES LEFEBVRE

Why we must defend supply management

OpinionBY ANDREW CADDELL

Turning the tables on ‘Positive Nutrition’

OpinionBY JACQUES J.M. SHORE, SUZANNE SABOURIN

See all

Biotechnology

U.S. tariffs on pharmaceuticals could complicate an already complex supply chain

NewsBY TESSIE SANCI

A different ‘philosophy’ steers new drug pricing guidelines, says top PMPRB bureaucrat after contentious path to rule changes  

NewsBY TESSIE SANCI

Canada’s next top doctor must be a ‘focal point’ for public health amid changes in the U.S., concerns about next pandemic

NewsBY TESSIE SANCI

From momentum to leadership: securing Canada’s biotech future

OpinionBY WENDY ZATYLNY

See all

DEFENCE & SECURITY

‘Putting people first’: new Veterans Minister McKnight readies for fall as advocates push for change

NewsBY LAURA RYCKEWAERT

The hits keep coming for the CAF

OpinionBY SCOTT TAYLOR

A continuum of responsibility for Canada’s veterans

OpinionBY FARDOUS HOSSEINY

Changes to rules for ‘national security’ contracts bypass competition and raise concerns of potential abuse, say procurement watchers

NewsBY IREM KOCA

See all

Environment

Feds must consider oil and gas conflicts for Canada Pension Plan appointees 

OpinionBY CHERYL RANDALL, LAURA MCGRATH

Ignoring the planetary crisis won’t make it go away

OpinionBY TREVOR HANCOCK

A nation-building project that will protect the environment and our health

OpinionBY RICHARD VAN DER JAGT, GEOFF STRONG

Canada’s leading AI-generated politician is back

OpinionBY SUSAN RILEY

See all

FINANCE

Transport Canada projects 1,000 fewer jobs by 2027-28, with green programs on the chopping block

NewsBY RIDDHI KACHHELA, PETER MAZEREEUW

Carney was talking about Canada’s productivity problem in 2010. It’s now his job to fix it.

OpinionBY DAVID CRANE

Air Canada mess is a lesson for government

OpinionBY ROSE LEMAY

Economic lobbying in July rises to meet demand for nation-building projects, interprovincial trade

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

See all

Fisheries and oceans

Q&A | Cod quota ‘pressure is enormous’ on fisheries minister

NewsBY PETER MAZEREEUW

Federal fish science analyses continue to muddy the waters in salmon farm fight

NewsBY STUART BENSON

The markets are hungry for Canadian cod. Will we deliver?

OpinionBY SYLVIE LAPOINTE

Oceans must take centre stage in nation-building projects

OpinionBY DEREK ARMITAGE, TREVOR SWERDFAGER

See all

FOREIGN POLICY

America, Greenland, and upending the territorial status quo

OpinionBY GWYNNE DYER

Canada’s deafening silence defending the International Criminal Court 

OpinionBY MARK KERSTEN

Was Trump’s Alaska Summit his Chamberlain moment?

OpinionBY JOSEPH INGRAM

Distraction season is here—but Trump still demands attention

OpinionBY MICHELLE JOHNSTON

See all

health

One year in, Canada’s nicotine pouch ban still defies public health logic

OpinionBY FRANK SILVA

Why Canada can no longer trust U.S. regulatory agencies

OpinionBY NATASHA TUSIKOV

Surviving cancer should not be determined by your bank account

OpinionBY KATHLEEN FINLAY

Forest fire travel ban backlash demonstrates lack of investment in trust post-COVID, says public health expert

NewsBY STUART BENSON

See all

Industry and Manufacturing

Feds need to ‘rethink’ industrial benefits policy and refocus on defence capabilities, say former senior officials: it ‘needs to evolve’

NewsBY IREM KOCA

Bill C-5 is a turning point in Canadian history

OpinionBY GARY MERASTY

What will kill the electric car this time: Trump or Canada’s haplessness?

OpinionBY SUSAN RILEY

We need a fix for bureaucratic delays—but is it a pipe dream?

OpinionBY MATT GURNEY

See all

infrastructure and transport

National-interest infrastructure needs to be climate proof

OpinionBY DAVE SAWYER, RYAN NESS

Why Canada’s ‘wait-and-see’ approach is the biggest threat to our infrastructure

OpinionBY KAMYAB ZANDI

Steel industry players say retaliatory tariffs for Canadian steel need ‘real teeth’ as lobbying efforts heat up

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

Why industrial policy is critical to nation building

OpinionBY AARON COSBEY

See all

innovation

Canada and its allies must get smart about smart devices and limit chips to what matters

OpinionBY KATE E. TODD

AI as Canada’s green catalyst—but at what cost?

OpinionBY SARAH FARAHDEL

The AI crash

OpinionBY GWYNNE DYER

Canada must lead on circular solutions to end plastic pollution

OpinionBY CHRISTA SEAMAN

See all

intergovernmental

Arctic deserves more than promises for improved security

OpinionBY DANIEL DAGENAIS

Ottawa needs to do more to recognize Newfoundland and Labrador’s ‘positive impact’ on national agenda, says former premier Ball

NewsBY TESSIE SANCI

Political commentary on convoy protest organizers Lich and Barber’s sentencing ‘corrosive’ and ‘dangerous,’ say observers

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

New Leaf Liberals want to root out Ontario Liberal shortcomings, not back a particular leader, says co-founder

NewsBY STUART BENSON

See all

Get The Policy Briefings Newsletter

Get into the weeds on hot policy issues and the players shaping them.

SIGN UP

By entering your email address you consent to receive email from The Hill Times containing news, analysis, updates and offers. You may unsubscribe at any time. See our privacy policy

justice

Military police chief is ignoring the law, shutting down probes into complaints: watchdog report

NewsBY PETER MAZEREEUW, SAMANTHA WRIGHT ALLEN

Senate throws a lifeline to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms

OpinionBY ERROL MENDES

Kelly looks at how governments react to judicial invalidation in Constraining the Court

FeatureBY JAMES B. KELLY

‘This is a book about gender-based violence, with a focus on intimate partner abuse,’ says Donner-nominated author of And Sometimes They Kill You

FeatureBY PAMELA CROSS

See all

Labour & employment

Air Canada strike intervention shortens Carney’s domestic runway to land ‘Trump and trade’ deals, say strategists

NewsBY STUART BENSON

Liberals’ unconstitutional and ‘offensive’ use of Labour Code in Air Canada dispute marks ‘turning point’: union leader 

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

Liberals set themselves up for turbulence on workers’ rights

OpinionBY EDITORIAL

The value of lifelong learning

OpinionBY ANDREW CADDELL

See all

Lobbying

Steel, auto sectors seek relief after latest ‘crushing’ tariff hike 

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

Canada ‘should not relent’ in trade talks, say industry reps who say auto sector needs zero tariffs

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

U.S. trade approach ‘changes the rules of the game,’ with canola sector leading economic lobbying in first six months of 2025

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

Lobbyists address Canada-U.S. dynamic in face of shifting tariffs from unpredictable Trump: ‘it’s changed’

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

See all

natural resources and energy

Reality check: Canada’s nation-building must ditch fossil fantasies

OpinionBY ALY HYDER ALI

High engagement with oil and gas industry a ‘bad look’ for feds, say environmental advocates: ‘pick a lane’

NewsBY JESSE CNOCKAERT

Why bold infrastructure investments are key to our economic resilience

OpinionBY KIP EIDEBERG

Finding open ice: Canada’s future depends on batteries and critical minerals

OpinionBY DAN BLONDAL, TRENT MELL, TREVOR WALKER

See all

Women, Gender and Diversity

Carney becomes second sitting prime minister in Canadian history to march at Pride

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

WAGE isn’t in a funding crisis—it has a design flaw

OpinionBY REBECCA BAILEY, SARAH HASHEM

Plan tackling gender-based violence needs funding renewed, say advocates amid concerns over budget cuts

NewsBY RIDDHI KACHHELA

‘It’s being levelled’: advocates worried about potential 81 per cent cut to Women and Gender Equality Canada’s budget by 2028

NewsBY RIDDHI KACHHELA

See all

Indigenous Relations

Cuts to Indigenous Services Canada sparking concerns of return to ‘Band-Aid solutions,’ and ‘mistakes of the past’

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

When will Canada embrace Indigenous-led wildfire solutions that we know work?

OpinionBY AMY CARDINAL CHRISTIANSON, CONROY SEWEPAGAHAM, FRANK BROWN

Natan Obed weighs in on the Major Projects law, Carney’s election, and what the North needs

FeatureBY PETER MAZEREEUW

Crown-Indigenous Relations departmental plan raises questions about role in Liberals’ major projects push

NewsBY ELEANOR WAND

See all

Upcoming Policy briefings

Exclusive lists

Take The Hill Times politics quiz

Take The Hill Times politics quiz

Ranking the best and worst federal departments, by public service survey results

Ranking the best and worst federal departments, by public service survey results

The PBO’s take on public service bloat and staffing cuts

The PBO’s take on public service bloat and staffing cuts

House and Senate steering committee members named

House and Senate steering committee members named

All eyes on Trump: meet the top 50 foreign policy influencers navigating Canada’s role in a rocky world

All eyes on Trump: meet the top 50 foreign policy influencers navigating Canada’s role in a rocky world

Meet Carney’s parliamentary secretaries, half of whom are rookie MPs

Meet Carney’s parliamentary secretaries, half of whom are rookie MPs

The 19 entities asking for the biggest spending boosts in the 2025-26 main estimates

The 19 entities asking for the biggest spending boosts in the 2025-26 main estimates

Meet Mark Carney’s 38-member senior team

Meet Mark Carney’s 38-member senior team