Montreal, March 9, 2016 – The Montreal Economic Institute (MEI) is proud to announce the nomination of the Honourable Joe Oliver as “Distinguished Senior Fellow.” The former Finance Minister of Canada will take part in certain research projects, in particular on files related to public finances and natural resources.

Montreal, March 4, 2016 – They don’t have access to health care, education, or the labour market. They don’t have the right to open a bank account, or to defend themselves in court. In many countries around the world, the rights of women are still very limited. How can they enjoy greater independence and freedom? On the occasion of International Women’s Day, the MEI is publishing a Viewpoint showing that the well-being of women is intimately connected to the degree of economic freedom that prevails in a given country.

Montreal, March 3, 2016 – Alberta must heed the lessons of Ontario and Quebec before taking further steps in implementing green energy policies that will drive up power prices for its residents, explains an Economic Note published today by the MEI.

Montreal, Friday, February 26, 2016 – While the negative market returns of recent months have reduced the value of Canadians’ and Quebecers’ RRSPs, the MEI points out that governments make the goal of saving for retirement even more difficult by inflating mutual fund management fees.

Montreal, February 17, 2016 – Bombardier’s announcement that it will cut 7,000 jobs has elicited from a number of political and financial commentators calls for the company to guarantee that it will maintain these jobs in exchange for governments’ financial assistance. On the contrary, says Mathieu Bédard, Economist at the Montreal Economic Institute, the best way to help Bombardier in the medium and long term is to let the company restructure itself.

Montreal, February 16, 2016 – Quebecers’ opinions about the development of oil, its provenance, and its transport diverge markedly from what is often heard from certain interest groups, and from certain members of the political elite, according to the results of a Léger poll commissioned by the MEI and released today. Generally speaking, Quebecers are open to oil development and are pragmatic when it comes to its provenance and transport. 

Montreal, February 8, 2016 – With an anti-Uber show of force from taxi owners in the works for this Wednesday, an MEI Viewpoint published today describes the broad strokes of two reforms put in place recently in Australia, which demonstrate that solutions exist for allowing the taxi industry and ride-sharing applications to coexist.

Montreal, February 4, 2016 – A ranking comparing the relative fiscal and budgetary performance of the provincial premiers puts the current Quebec government in second place among its peers. This ranking measures government spending, corporate and individual taxes, and deficits and debt. With an overall score of 78.2 out of 100, the government led by Philippe Couillard is just behind the Christy Clark government in British Columbia (78.5) and far ahead of the governments of Ontario and Alberta (61.4 and 53.8 respectively).

Montreal, February 3, 2016 – La compagnie américaine Lowe's a annoncé ce matin qu’elle a acquis la chaîne québécoise de quincailleries RONA. Bien que cette nouvelle signifie que la région métropolitaine de Montréal va perdre un nouveau siège social d’une grande entreprise, ce phénomène n’est pas récent. Entre 2001 et 2011, la part des sièges sociaux québécois dans le total canadien est passée de 24 % à 20 % rappelle Mathieu Bédard, économiste à l’IEDM.

Montreal, February 1st, 2016 – While the debate rages on regarding the Energy East project, the MEI points out that even in a scenario in which absolutely no new pipelines are built, oil production in the country will increase significantly from now until 2040, as the National Energy Board (NEB) stipulated in a report published last week. It is therefore a mistake to believe that systematic opposition to the construction of pipelines will reduce either our production or our consumption of oil in the coming years, as certain commentators imply.