The Macdonald-Laurier Institute think tank is a Canadian leader in producing high-quality public policy research.
The Institute’s findings have led the discussion on topics that include the Canada Health Act, Aboriginal land title rights (including the Northern Gateway pipeline and the “duty to consult” doctrine) and the proposed revisions to Canada’s prostitution legislation (C-36).
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Scroll down to view the full roster of MLI papers. To browse papers by release date, click here.
Aboriginal affairs
Evening the Odds: Giving Indigenous ventures access to the full financial toolkit, by Dominique Collin and Michael L. Rice, May 2, 2019
Catching the Next Wave: How BC First Nations Can Benefit from Another LNG Boom, by Ken Coates, April 26, 2018
Political Rhetoric Meets Legal Reality: How to Move Forward on Free, Prior and Informed Consent in Canada, by Dwight Newman, August 15, 2017
Getting the Big Picture: How regional assessment can pave the way for more inclusive and effective environmental assessments, by Bram Noble, June 29, 2017
Missed Opportunities, Glimmers of Hope: Aboriginal communities and mineral development in Northern Ontario, by Heather Hall and Ken Coates, May 18, 2017
Learning to Listen: Snapshots of Aboriginal Participation in Environmental Assessment, by Bram Noble, July 5, 2016
Stepping Into The Sunshine Without Getting Burned: The Extractive Sector Transparency Measures Act (ESTMA) and Aboriginal Communities, by Dwight Newman and Kaitlyn S. Harvey, June 2, 2016
Understanding UNDRIP: Choosing action on priorities over sweeping claims about the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, by Ken Coates and Blaine Favel, May 19, 2016
Understanding FPIC: From assertion and assumption on ‘free, prior and informed consent’ to a new model for Indigenous engagement on resource development, by Ken Coates and Blaine Favel, April 28, 2016
Unearthing Human Resources: Aboriginal Skills Development And Employment In The Natural Resource Sector, by Ken Coates, Greg Finnegan, Craig J. Hall and Kelly J. Lendsay, Dec. 10, 2015
Protectors Of The Land: Toward an EA process that works for communities and developers, by Bram Noble and Aniekan Udofia, Oct. 29, 2015
Is The Sky The Limit? Following the trajectory of Aboriginal legal rights in resource development, by Dwight Newman, June 23, 2015
Risk, Prevention and Opportunity: Northern Gateway and the marine environment, by Robert Hage, March 13, 2015
Sharing The Wealth: How resource revenue agreements can honour treaties, improve communities, and facilitate Canadian development, by Ken Coates, Jan. 27, 2015
The End is Not Nigh: Reason over alarmism in analysing the Tsilhqot'in decision, by Ken Coates and Dwight Newman, Sept. 11, 2014
The Rule and Role of Law: The duty to consult, Aboriginal communities and the Canadian natural resource sector, by Dwight Newman, May 2014
An Unfinished Nation: Completing the devolution revolution in Canada's North, by Ken Coates and Greg Poelzer, April 2014
New Beginnings: How Canada's natural resource wealth could re-shape relations with Aboriginal people, by Ken Coates and Brian Lee Crowley, May 2013
Canada and the First Nations: Cooperation or conflict?, by Douglas Bland, May 2013
The Way Out: New thinking about Aboriginal engagement and energy infrastructure to the West coast, by Brian Lee Crowley and Ken Coates, May 2013
The Atlantic Integrated Commercial Fishery Initiative: A successful model to manage Aboriginal participation in natural resource development, by Jacquelyn Thayer Scott , February 1, 2012
Free to Learn: Giving Aboriginal youth control over their post-secondary education, by Calvin Helin and Dave Snow, March 15, 2010
Canada's political tradition
John A. Macdonald: The Indispensable Politician, by Alastair C.F. Gillespie, June 22, 2017
Thomas D'Arcy McGee: The Idealist, by Alastair C.F. Gillespie, June 8, 2017
Alexander Galt: The Federalist, by Alastair C.F. Gillespie, April 19, 2017
George-Étienne Cartier: The Canadian, by Alastair C.F. Gillespie, March 7, 2017
George Brown: The Reformer, by Alastair C.F. Gillespie, Feb. 7, 2017
Introducing The Confederation Series, by Alastair C.F. Gillespie, Feb. 7, 2017
Beyond Patronage and Scandal: A rationale and a strategy for serious Senate reform, by Brian Lee Crowley, Nov. 21, 2013
Restoring Equity and Promoting Wise Stewardship in Canada's Equalization Program, by Brian Lee Crowley, April 2013
Laying the Ghost of Electoral Reform, by John Pepall, October 11, 2011
Confederation and Individual Liberty, by Janet Ajzenstat, November 10, 2010
Health care
The Federal Department of Health Nears 100: The Origins and Evolution of the Federal Role in Health Care and the Case for Reform, by Sean Speer, Aug. 16, 2018
The Unkindest Cut: How a new plan for slashing drug prices could harm the prosperity and health of Canadians, by Wayne Critchley and Richard Owens, Feb. 8, 2018
Running out of Time: Demographic Pressures and the Future of Canadian Health Care, by Sean Speer, Brian Ferguson, and Ariel Freeman-Fawcett, Dec. 14, 2017
Injecting Some Healthy Competition Into Canadian Health Care, by Mark Ronayne and Richard Audas, Nov. 22, 2016
Toward a more fair medicare: Why Canadian health care isn’t equitable or sustainable and how it can be, by Sean Speer and Ian Lee, July 19, 2016
An Asian Flavour For Medicare: Learning from experiments in Japan, Korea and Taiwan, by Ito Peng and James Tiessen, April 30, 2015
How markets can put patients first: Economics before politics in Canadian health care delivery, by Audrey Laporte, January 15, 2014
A European flavour for medicare: Learning from experiments in Switzerland and Sweden, by Mattias Lundback, November 22, 2013
Debunking the Myths: A broader perspective of the Canada Health Act, by Michael Watts, September 20, 2013
Strong Medicine: Can free trade agreements cure Canada's pharmaceutical ills? by Stefania Bartucci and Laura Dawson, June 2013
Health Care Reform From the Cradle of Medicare, by Janice MacKinnon, January 31, 2013
First, Do No Harm: How the Canada Health Act obstructs reform and innovation, by Jason Clemens and Nadeem Esmail, June 19, 2012
Canada's Looming Fiscal Squeeze: Collected essays on solutions, by Janice MacKinnon, William Watson, Bev Dahlby, Ronald Kneebone, and Jason Clemens, February 7, 2012
Economics of Intellectual Property Protection in the Pharmaceutical Sector, by Brian Ferguson and Kristina Lybecker, January 24, 2012
Canada's Looming Fiscal Squeeze, by Christopher Ragan, November 3, 2011
Reforming the Canada Health Transfer, by Jason Clemens, October 27, 2011
Pills, Patents & Profits, by Brian Ferguson, March 25, 2011
Agriculture and agri-food
The Greening of Canadian Agriculture, by Claudia Schmidt, Al Mussell, Janalee Sweetland, and Bob Seguin, November 15, 2012
Milking the System: How agricultural supply management impedes trade opportunities and egregiously transfers income, by Chris Sarlo, Larry Martin, and Ian Lee, June 21, 2012
Canadian Agriculture and Food: A growing hunger for change, by Larry Martin and Kate Stiefelmeyer, October 17, 2011
National Security and Defence
Russia-proofing your election: Global lessons for protecting Canadian democracy against foreign interference, by Marcus Kolga, Jakub Janda, and Nathalie Vogel, July 31, 2019
The Catastrophe: Assessing the Damage from Canada’s Fighter Replacement Fiasco, by Richard Shimooka, May 6, 2019
Canadian Terrorists by the Numbers: An Assessment of Canadians Joining and Supporting Terrorist Groups, by Alex Wilner with Irfan Yar, April 9, 2019
Stemming the Virus: Understanding and responding to the threat of Russian Disinformation, by Marcus Kolga, January 17, 2019
First Principles and the National Interest: Report Card on Canadian Defence Policy 2018, by Jeff Collins, December 6, 2018
The Hard Edge of Sharp Power: Understanding China's Influence Operations Abroad, by J. Michael Cole, October 25, 2018
Rethinking the Taiwan Question: How Canada can update its rigid “One-China” policy for the 21st century, by Eric Lerhe, September 6, 2018
Fear and Dread: Russia’s strategy to dismantle North Atlantic and European security cooperation, by Alexander Moens with Cornel Turdeanu, July 31, 2018
Should Canada Participate in Ballistic Missile Defence? A Survey of the Experts, by Jeffrey Collins, July 9, 2018
Reconsidering Canada’s Strategic Geography: Lessons from history and the Australian experience for Canada's strategic outlook, by Andrew Pickford and Jeffrey Collins, April 6, 2018
On the Baltic Watch: The Past, Present and Future of Canada’s Commitment to NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence in Latvia, by Christian Leuprecht, Joel Sokolsky and Jayson Derow, June 25, 2018
Global Security Look Ahead: A Collection of Essays, by Edward Luttwak / Stephen Saideman / Stéfanie von Hlatky / Ray Boisvert / Alex Wilner / Aurel Braun and Stephen Blank, April 6, 2017
First Principles and the National Interest: Recommendations for a New Canadian Defence Policy, by Sean Speer and Jeffrey Collins, March 9, 2017
Beyond The Movies: The Value Proposition of Canada’s Special Operations Forces, by Christian Leuprecht and Christian Breede, Dec. 13, 2016
Smoking Gun: Strategic containment of contraband tobacco and cigarette trafficking in Canada, by Christian Leuprecht, March 31, 2016
Putting The 'Armed' Back Into The Canadian Armed Forces: Improving defence procurement in Canada, by David Perry, Jan. 14, 2015
National Security Strategy for Canada Series: Organized crime beyond the border, by Todd Hataley and Christian Leuprecht, April 2013
National Security Strategy for Canada Series: Border integrity, illicit tobacco, and Canada's security, by Jean Daudelin with Stephanie Soiffer and Jeff Willows, March 27, 2013
Solutions To Critical Infrastructure Problems: Essays on protecting Canada's infrastructure, by Stuart Farson, Douglas Bland, Brigadier-General James Cox, Barry Cooper, and Andrew Graham, February 29, 2012
Canada's Critical Infrastructure: When is safe enough safe enough?, by Andrew Graham, December 6, 2011
To Stand On Guard, by Paul H. Chapin, November 29, 2010
From Rehabilitation to Recruitment, by Alex Wilner, October 18, 2010
Economy
Harming Charity: The potential effects of high personal tax rates on charitable giving, by Sean Speer, June 27, 2019
Who’s afraid of the USMCA? Why the intellectual property provisions in the US Mexico Canada Agreement are good for Canada and its trading partners, by Richard Owens, May 23, 2019
Moving Beyond Rhetoric: Understanding the practical consequence of a Canada-China Free Trade Agreement, by Duanjie Chen, March 28, 2019
BC’s LNG Projects: A Turning Point for Canada’s Energy Industry, by Philip Cross, December 4, 2018
Performance Anxiety II: How to ensure post-secondary institutions deliver on the expectations of students, parents, employers, and governments, by Ken Coates and Douglas Auld, Nov. 30, 2018
A Work and Opportunity Agenda for Canada, by Brian Lee Crowley and Sean Speer, Sept. 27, 2018
Performance Anxiety: Post-Secondary Education and the Future of the Canadian Workforce, by Ken Coates and Douglas Auld, May 31, 2018
The Truth About the Unemployment Rate, by Philip Cross, May 10, 2018
A Tale of Two Governments: How Historical Trends Cast Doubt on Federal Promises of Fiscal Restraint, by Sean Speer, Feb. 21, 2018
Straightened Up and Flying Right: Canadian Courts Offer Renewed Support of IP Rights, by Richard Owens, Jan. 31, 2018
The Case for Fiscal Reform: Lessons from the Anglosphere, by Sean Speer and Alex Brill, Daniel Mahoney, Robert Carling and Bryce Wilkinson, Nov. 29, 2017
Response to the Financial Crisis in the United Kingdom, by Daniel Mahoney, Nov. 29, 2017
The bleak long-run outlook for US fiscal policy and how to improve it, by Alex Brill, Nov. 29, 2017
Getting out of a fiscal hole: Canada's experience with fiscal reform, by Sean Speer, Nov. 29, 2017
Australian fiscal reforms since 1985, by Robert Carling, Nov. 29, 2017
New Zealand's fiscal reforms, 1984-1996, by Bryce Wilkinson, Nov. 29, 2017
A Home to Call Our Own: A Federal Strategy for Affordable and Responsible Home Ownership, by Sean Speer and Jane Londerville, Nov. 15, 2017
Punishing Rewards: How clamping down on credit card interchange fees can hurt the middle class, by Julian Morris, Geoffrey Manne, Ian Lee and Todd Zywicki, Nov. 9, 2017
Producing Black Gold: Understanding the Oil Sands as Part of Manufacturing in Canada, by Philip Cross, September 28, 2017
Defending Our Rights: Eliminating dysfunction in Canada’s intellectual property regime, by Richard Owens, June 15, 2017
How We Got Here: The evolution of Canadian IP rights and their economic impact, by Richard Owens and Michael Robichaud, June 1, 2017
Defending Our Rights: Why intellectual property protection matters to Canada, by Richard Owens and Michael Robichaud, May 11, 2017
Taxing the 1%? The limits of redistribution and a plan for inclusive growth, by Sean Speer, April 20, 2017
The Public Purse And The Public Good: A framework for reviewing federal tax expenditures, by Sean Speer, Feb. 16, 2017
A New Policy For The Digital Age: A mandate review for the CRTC, by Sean Speer and Len Katz, Oct. 20, 2016
A Home For Canada's Middle Class: A plan For housing affordability and opportunity in Canada, by Brian Lee Crowley and Sean Speer, Sept. 29, 2016
Winners And Losers In The Global Race For Ultra-Fast Broadband: A cautionary tale from Europe, by Andrea Renda, Aug. 24, 2016
A Sickness in the System: How public sector use of sick leave benefits really compares to the private sector, by Philip Cross, Nov. 27, 2015
Serving Up The Reality On Youth Unemployment: How rising unemployment among teens has skewed public perceptions about young people and work, by Philip Cross, Oct. 22, 2015
Is The Cheque Still In The Mail? The Internet, e-commerce, and the future of Canada Post Corporation, by Ian Lee, July 23, 2015
Unearthing the Full Economic Impact of Canada’s Natural Resources: What are they? How important are they?, by Philip Cross, May 29, 2015
Giving and Taking Away: How taxes and transfers address inequality in Canada, by Philip Cross, Apr. 16, 2015
Great Gatsby v. Zero Dollar Linda: Assessing the relationship between income inequality, social mobility and the tax transfer system, by Munir Sheikh, Apr. 9, 2015
Staying On The Right Track: A review of Canadian freight rail policy, by Malcolm Cairns, Feb. 20, 2015
Estimating the True Size of Government: Adjusting for regulation, by Philip Cross, May 29, 2014
Estimating the True Size of Government: Adjusting for tax expenditures, by Munir A. Sheikh, Feb. 6, 2014
Credit Where It's Due: How payment cards benefit Canadian merchants and consumers, and how regulation can harm them, by Ian Lee, Geoffrey A. Manne, Julian Morris, and Todd J. Zywicki, Oct. 18, 2013
Six Myths Surrounding the Development of Canada's Natural Resources, by Philip Cross, May 8, 2013
Dutch Disease, Canadian Cure: How manufacturers adapted to the high dollar, by Philip Cross, January 16, 2013
Sustaining the Crude Economy, by Laura Dawson and Stefania Bartucci, October 23, 2012
Provincial Solvency and Federal Obligations, by Marc Joffe, October 18, 2012
Public Policies to Encourage Innovation and Productivity, by Steven Globerman, September 27, 2012
Sound Money: Why It Matters, How to Have It, by Jerry Jordan and Allan Meltzer, June 11, 2012
Income Inequality: Oversimplifying a Complicated Issue, by Jason Clemens, April 30, 2012
Success and the City: How charter cities could transform the developing world, by Paul Romer and Brandon Fuller, April 25, 2012
Free Trade within Canada: Say Goodbye to Gold Seal, by Ian Blue, June 15, 2011
Mortgage Insurance in Canada, by Jane Londerville, November 18, 2010
Citizen of One, Citizen of the Whole: How Ottawa can strengthen our nation by eliminating provincial trade barriers with a charter of economic rights, by Brian Lee Crowley, Robert Knox and John Robson, June 21, 2010 (re-released in 2017)
Energy
The Carbon Tax Win-Win: Too Good to be True?, by Robert P. Murphy, October 30, 2014
Money to Burn: Assessing the costs and benefits of Canada's strategy for vehicle biofuels, by Douglas Auld and Ross McKitrick, June 26, 2014
Making Oil and Water Mix: Oil tanker traffic on Canada's West Coast, by Philip John, Roland Priddle and Robert Hage, March 14, 2012
The High Price of Low Emissions: Benefits and costs of GHG abatement in the transportation sector, by Ross McKitrick, February 22, 2012
Justice
Report Card on the Criminal Justice System #2, by Benjamin Perrin, March 5, 2018
Force 2.0: Fixing the Governance, Leadership and Structure of the RCMP, by Christian Leuprecht, Sept. 7, 2017
The Supreme Court VS. Parliament Supreme Court of Canada 2016 Year in Review, by Benjamin Perrin, Dec. 8, 2016
Justice On Trial: Inefficiencies and ineffectiveness in the Canadian criminal justice system, by Scott Newark, Sept. 27, 2016
Report Card on the Criminal Justice System: Evaluating Canada's justice deficit, by Benjamin Perrin and Richard Audas, Sept. 21, 2016
Canada's Justice Deficit: The case for a justice system report card, by Benjamin Perrin, Richard Audas and Sarah Peloquin Ladany, May 5, 2016
Dissent From Within At The Supreme Court of Canada: 2015 Year in Review, by Benjamin Perrin, Jan. 15, 2016
Punishing the Most Heinous Crimes: Analysis and recommendations related to Bill C-53 (Life Means Life Act), by Benjamin Perrin, May 7, 2015
The Supreme Court of Canada: Policy-Maker of the Year (2014), by Benjamin Perrin, Nov. 27, 2014
Finding the Balance on Digital Privacy: Toward a new Canadian model for data protection in the 21st century, by Solveig Singleton, June 10, 2014
Parliamentary Restrictions on Judicial Discretion in Sentencing: A defence of mandatory minimum sentences, by Lincoln Caylor and Gannon G. Beaulne, May 1, 2014
The Blue Line or the Bottom Line of Police Services in Canada: Arresting runaway costs, by Christian Leuprecht, March 31, 2014
Oldest profession or oldest oppression?: Addressing prostitution after the Supreme Court of Canada decision in Canada v. Bedford, by Benjamin Perrin, Jan. 27, 2014
Police-reported Crime Statistics in Canada: Still more questions than answers, by Scott Newark, February 21, 2013
Why Canadian Crime Statistics Don't Add Up: Not the whole truth, by Scott Newark, February 9, 2011
Immigration
What Do Muslim Canadians Want?, by Christian Leuprecht and Conrad Winn, November 1, 2011
Migrant Smuggling: Canada's response to a global criminal enterprise, by Benjamin Perrin, October 25, 2011
