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Philip Cross

Philip Cross is a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute. He is also a member of the Business Cycle Dating Committee at the CD Howe Institute. Before that, he spent 36 years at Statistics Canada, the last few as its Chief Economic Analyst.

In a tariff war, Canada’s resources are our strategic advantage

  • Canadians are realizing that it’s easier to expand existing overseas markets for commodities than develop new ones for manufactured goods.
Opinion | BY PHILIP CROSS | February 25, 2026
Donald Trump
Donald Trump
Faced with higher U.S. tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, Canada needs to expand exports to other countries, writes Philip Cross. White House photograph by Daniel Torok

In a tariff war, Canada’s resources are our strategic advantage

Opinion | BY PHILIP CROSS | February 25, 2026
  • Canadians are realizing that it’s easier to expand existing overseas markets for commodities than develop new ones for manufactured goods.

In a tariff war, Canada’s resources are our strategic advantage

Opinion | BY PHILIP CROSS | February 25, 2026
  • Canadians are realizing that it’s easier to expand existing overseas markets for commodities than develop new ones for manufactured goods.
Donald Trump
Faced with higher U.S. tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, Canada needs to expand exports to other countries, writes Philip Cross. White House photograph by Daniel Torok

Government must help businesses, not just households, to sustain economic recovery

  • What should the federal government be doing to help the private sector sustain its recovery, rather than sustain its mere survival for another quarter
Opinion | BY PHILIP CROSS | July 13, 2020
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau held a photo op at the Régimbal Awards and Promotions plant in Ottawa in June to promote the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, one of his government's programs to help businesses during the COVID-19 crisis. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Government must help businesses, not just households, to sustain economic recovery

Opinion | BY PHILIP CROSS | July 13, 2020
  • What should the federal government be doing to help the private sector sustain its recovery, rather than sustain its mere survival for another quarter

Government must help businesses, not just households, to sustain economic recovery

Opinion | BY PHILIP CROSS | July 13, 2020
  • What should the federal government be doing to help the private sector sustain its recovery, rather than sustain its mere survival for another quarter
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau held a photo op at the Régimbal Awards and Promotions plant in Ottawa in June to promote the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, one of his government's programs to help businesses during the COVID-19 crisis. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

What’s wrong with a Great Rebuilding of the economy post-COVID-19

  • The extraordinary increase in government spending and deficits in response to the coronavirus pandemic apparently does not deter some from seeing an opportunity to
Opinion | BY PHILIP CROSS | June 15, 2020
While not at full employment before the crisis, Canada was not several percentage points short of it (the Bank of Canada estimated the output gap was about one per cent late in 2019). We cannot simultaneously resume normal economic activities and fundamentally restructure the economy, nor would we want to, writes Philip Cross. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

What’s wrong with a Great Rebuilding of the economy post-COVID-19

Opinion | BY PHILIP CROSS | June 15, 2020
  • The extraordinary increase in government spending and deficits in response to the coronavirus pandemic apparently does not deter some from seeing an opportunity to

What’s wrong with a Great Rebuilding of the economy post-COVID-19

Opinion | BY PHILIP CROSS | June 15, 2020
  • The extraordinary increase in government spending and deficits in response to the coronavirus pandemic apparently does not deter some from seeing an opportunity to
While not at full employment before the crisis, Canada was not several percentage points short of it (the Bank of Canada estimated the output gap was about one per cent late in 2019). We cannot simultaneously resume normal economic activities and fundamentally restructure the economy, nor would we want to, writes Philip Cross. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Infrastructure programs rarely stimulate growth

  • As the true scale of the economic disaster due to the coronavirus pandemic lockdown becomes apparent, there are renewed calls for increased government spending
Opinion | BY PHILIP CROSS | April 22, 2020
Finance Minister Bill Morneau speaks to reporters in the West Block on April 11. Before another spending binge, governments should carefully evaluate whether past infrastructure stimulus programs succeeded in boosting the economy in either the short-term or the long-term, writes Philip Cross. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Infrastructure programs rarely stimulate growth

Opinion | BY PHILIP CROSS | April 22, 2020
  • As the true scale of the economic disaster due to the coronavirus pandemic lockdown becomes apparent, there are renewed calls for increased government spending

Infrastructure programs rarely stimulate growth

Opinion | BY PHILIP CROSS | April 22, 2020
  • As the true scale of the economic disaster due to the coronavirus pandemic lockdown becomes apparent, there are renewed calls for increased government spending
Finance Minister Bill Morneau speaks to reporters in the West Block on April 11. Before another spending binge, governments should carefully evaluate whether past infrastructure stimulus programs succeeded in boosting the economy in either the short-term or the long-term, writes Philip Cross. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Time to build a national transportation corridor

  • Canada has traditionally excelled at transportation, especially over long distances. This reflects the necessity of carrying people and goods across our country, often in
Opinion | BY PHILIP CROSS | February 24, 2020
Canada's federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau, pictured March 13, 2019, at the National Press Theatre in Ottawa. Instead of preparing a contingency plan, last week showed the federal government was caught completely off-guard, writes Philip Cross. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Time to build a national transportation corridor

Opinion | BY PHILIP CROSS | February 24, 2020
  • Canada has traditionally excelled at transportation, especially over long distances. This reflects the necessity of carrying people and goods across our country, often in

Time to build a national transportation corridor

Opinion | BY PHILIP CROSS | February 24, 2020
  • Canada has traditionally excelled at transportation, especially over long distances. This reflects the necessity of carrying people and goods across our country, often in
Canada's federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau, pictured March 13, 2019, at the National Press Theatre in Ottawa. Instead of preparing a contingency plan, last week showed the federal government was caught completely off-guard, writes Philip Cross. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Concerns about a so-called retirement income ‘crisis’ overblown

  • The following is an excerpt from the Macdonald-Laurier Institute’s policy paper from its series From a Mandate For to a Plan to Govern. The
Opinion | BY PHILIP CROSS, SEAN SPEER | January 13, 2016
Finance Minister Bill Morneau is conducting pre-budget consultations across the country. 'The underlying assumptions behind the government’s support for a CPP expansion have not been fully fleshed out,' write Philip Cross and Sean Speer. The Hill Times photograph by Jake Wright

Concerns about a so-called retirement income ‘crisis’ overblown

Opinion | BY PHILIP CROSS, SEAN SPEER | January 13, 2016
  • The following is an excerpt from the Macdonald-Laurier Institute’s policy paper from its series From a Mandate For to a Plan to Govern. The

Concerns about a so-called retirement income ‘crisis’ overblown

Opinion | BY PHILIP CROSS, SEAN SPEER | January 13, 2016
  • The following is an excerpt from the Macdonald-Laurier Institute’s policy paper from its series From a Mandate For to a Plan to Govern. The
Finance Minister Bill Morneau is conducting pre-budget consultations across the country. 'The underlying assumptions behind the government’s support for a CPP expansion have not been fully fleshed out,' write Philip Cross and Sean Speer. The Hill Times photograph by Jake Wright
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