MBP Intelligence Briefing

The MBP Intelligence Briefing delivers exclusive, insider insight into the policies, decisions, and dynamics shaping Canada’s political and economic landscape.Hosted by Ben Woodfinden, Director of MBP Intelligence and Senior Advisor at Meredith Boessenkool & Phillips, the series features weekly conversations with MBP partners Ken Boessenkool, Tyler Meredith, and Shannon Phillips, along with a monthly guest bringing fresh perspective from business, media, or public policy.Listeners can expect a mix of roundtable discussions unpacking the week’s biggest developments and in-depth interviews exploring emerging ideas and long-term trends. From fiscal outlooks and trade strategy to the forces influencing governance, regulation, and public life, each episode delivers context and clarity rooted in real experience inside government, policy, and politics.This is your exclusive MBP Intelligence Briefing, context, clarity, and strategy for Canada’s evolving political economy.You’re listening to the first 10 minutes of this week’s episode, the full one-hour roundtable is now available exclusively to members of MBP Intelligence.Want the Full Episode?Become a member to unlock:The full, ad-free weekly MBP Intelligence Briefing podcast (1-hour roundtable)Exclusive reports, policy briefings, and member newslettersInvitations to private discussions and eventsAccess to a growing community of policymakers, business leaders, and thinkers shaping the national conversationJoin MBP Intelligence here: https://mbpolicy.com/intelligence/

In this week’s MBP Intelligence Briefing, Ben Woodfinden, Ken Boessenkool, and Shannon Phillips discuss the latest provincial budgets, Pierre Poilievre’s appearance on the Joe Rogan podcast, and the global economic risks emerging from the escalating conflict involving Iran, Israel, and the United States. They break down what the Manitoba and Ontario budgets reveal about political strategy, how long-form media is changing political communication, and why rising oil and energy prices could have major consequences for Canada’s economy.In this episode, they discuss· Manitoba’s budget focused heavily on affordability, including tax relief on groceries and homeowner credits, as the government prepares for a likely election. · Ontario’s upcoming budget is expected to prioritize housing affordability, deficit management, and tariff-related economic pressure. · Pierre Poilievre’s Joe Rogan interview highlights the growing importance of long-form media and podcast audiences in modern politics. · The ongoing Iran-Israel-U.S. conflict is pushing up oil, gas, fertilizer, and shipping costs, with ripple effects across the global economy. · Higher energy prices may benefit resource-producing provinces but could increase inflation and economic pressure across Canada.On the Manitoba budget and affordability politics· Phillips: The government has picked affordability as the central political issue and is designing policy to match what voters say they need most. · Boessenkool: Wab Kinew is effective at presenting policy without sounding ideological, which makes his approach appealing to a broad audience. · Woodfinden: The budget reads like an election-ready document focused on groceries, taxes, and cost-of-living relief.On the Ontario budget and housing policy· Woodfinden: Removing HST on new homes could help affordability and encourage construction, but taxes remain a major cost in housing. · Boessenkool: Ontario faces pressure from tariffs, rising energy prices, and slow growth, making fiscal choices more difficult. · Phillips: Opposition parties still lack a clear economic development strategy, which gives the government political room.On Poilievre, podcasts, and long-form politics· Phillips: Long-form interviews allow politicians to build trust and show personality in ways traditional media rarely allows. · Boessenkool: The Rogan appearance reached a specific audience, while clips from the interview shaped broader public perception. · Woodfinden: Political communication is shifting from short soundbites to long conversations, especially through podcasts and online media.On the Iran conflict and global economic risks· Boessenkool: Oil markets assume the conflict will calm down, but that depends on decisions by multiple governments that may not want to de-escalate. · Woodfinden: The Strait of Hormuz disruption affects oil, gas, fertilizer, and supply chains, not just energy prices. · Phillips: Higher oil prices could boost provincial revenues in Canada, but inflation and global instability could offset those gains.On the Canadian political impact· Phillips: Energy price spikes could affect provincial politics, especially in resource-producing regions. · Boessenkool: Economic shocks often expose regional differences inside Canada. · Woodfinden: Canada’s stability makes its resources more valuable in uncertain global markets.Youtube Credits: CBC News, CTV News, Global News, Bloomberg Television, CNBC, Reuters, Motion Array, balcony et-al, Videoscape, Exploring Stunning Landscapes From Above

The MBP Intelligence Briefing delivers exclusive, insider insight into the policies, decisions, and dynamics shaping Canada’s political and economic landscape.Hosted by Ben Woodfinden, Director of MBP Intelligence and Senior Advisor at Meredith Boessenkool & Phillips, the series features weekly conversations with MBP partners Ken Boessenkool, Tyler Meredith, and Shannon Phillips, along with a monthly guest bringing fresh perspective from business, media, or public policy.Listeners can expect a mix of roundtable discussions unpacking the week’s biggest developments and in-depth interviews exploring emerging ideas and long-term trends. From fiscal outlooks and trade strategy to the forces influencing governance, regulation, and public life, each episode delivers context and clarity rooted in real experience inside government, policy, and politics.This is your exclusive MBP Intelligence Briefing, context, clarity, and strategy for Canada’s evolving political economy.You’re listening to the first 10 minutes of this week’s episode, the full one-hour roundtable is now available exclusively to members of MBP Intelligence.Want the Full Episode?Become a member to unlock:The full, ad-free weekly MBP Intelligence Briefing podcast (1-hour roundtable)Exclusive reports, policy briefings, and member newslettersInvitations to private discussions and eventsAccess to a growing community of policymakers, business leaders, and thinkers shaping the national conversationJoin MBP Intelligence here: https://mbpolicy.com/intelligence/

The MBP Intelligence Briefing delivers exclusive, insider insight into the policies, decisions, and dynamics shaping Canada’s political and economic landscape.Hosted by Ben Woodfinden, Director of MBP Intelligence and Senior Advisor at Meredith Boessenkool & Phillips, the series features weekly conversations with MBP partners Ken Boessenkool, Tyler Meredith, and Shannon Phillips, along with a monthly guest bringing fresh perspective from business, media, or public policy.Listeners can expect a mix of roundtable discussions unpacking the week’s biggest developments and in-depth interviews exploring emerging ideas and long-term trends. From fiscal outlooks and trade strategy to the forces influencing governance, regulation, and public life, each episode delivers context and clarity rooted in real experience inside government, policy, and politics.This is your exclusive MBP Intelligence Briefing, context, clarity, and strategy for Canada’s evolving political economy.You’re listening to the first 10 minutes of this week’s episode, the full one-hour roundtable is now available exclusively to members of MBP Intelligence.Want the Full Episode?Become a member to unlock:The full, ad-free weekly MBP Intelligence Briefing podcast (1-hour roundtable)Exclusive reports, policy briefings, and member newslettersInvitations to private discussions and eventsAccess to a growing community of policymakers, business leaders, and thinkers shaping the national conversationJoin MBP Intelligence here: https://mbpolicy.com/intelligence/

The MBP Intelligence Briefing delivers exclusive, insider insight into the policies, decisions, and dynamics shaping Canada’s political and economic landscape.Hosted by Ben Woodfinden, Director of MBP Intelligence and Senior Advisor at Meredith Boessenkool & Phillips, the series features weekly conversations with MBP partners Ken Boessenkool, Tyler Meredith, and Shannon Phillips, along with a monthly guest bringing fresh perspective from business, media, or public policy.Listeners can expect a mix of roundtable discussions unpacking the week’s biggest developments and in-depth interviews exploring emerging ideas and long-term trends. From fiscal outlooks and trade strategy to the forces influencing governance, regulation, and public life, each episode delivers context and clarity rooted in real experience inside government, policy, and politics.This is your exclusive MBP Intelligence Briefing, context, clarity, and strategy for Canada’s evolving political economy.You’re listening to the first 10 minutes of this week’s episode, the full one-hour roundtable is now available exclusively to members of MBP Intelligence.Want the Full Episode?Become a member to unlock:The full, ad-free weekly MBP Intelligence Briefing podcast (1-hour roundtable)Exclusive reports, policy briefings, and member newslettersInvitations to private discussions and eventsAccess to a growing community of policymakers, business leaders, and thinkers shaping the national conversationJoin MBP Intelligence here: https://mbpolicy.com/intelligence/

Ep 20 MBP Intelligence Briefing – Progressive Economics in the Carney Era: Poverty Reduction, EI vs CERB, the Care Economy, and Industrial StrategyIn this week’s MBP Intelligence Briefing, Shannon Phillips and Tyler Meredith are joined by economist Armine Yalnizyan - Atkinson Fellow on the Future of Workers, for a wide-ranging conversation on what Canada gained in the Trudeau years, what’s at risk (or stalled) under the Carney government, and what a genuinely “progressive” industrial strategy would prioritize—especially the care economy, ownership, and the future of work in an AI- and services-heavy country. In this episode, they discuss· Meredith: The most consequential legacy of the Trudeau years was poverty reduction, driven in large part by the Canada Child Benefit alongside other targeted transfers.· Yalnizyan: CERB was globally unusual and highly effective, allowing people to stay home safely and supporting a rapid economic rebound.· Meredith: Pre-pandemic labour market tightening created more inclusive job gains for women, racialized workers, and people with disabilities.On Trudeau-era legacy: Poverty, labour markets, pandemic response· Meredith: Poverty fell significantly during the Trudeau era, with the CCB accounting for a major share of measurable gains.· Meredith: Strong pre-COVID labour markets pulled historically sidelined workers into better employment outcomes.· Yalnizyan: Pandemic supports like CERB stabilized households in ways traditional social insurance was never designed to do.On resilience now: EI, coverage gaps, and economic shocks· Meredith: Avoiding recession so far has mattered enormously because many households cannot meaningfully survive on EI alone.· Meredith: Canada needs modernized labour market institutions that reflect gig work, uneven hours, and technological disruption.· Yalnizyan: EI is social insurance; guaranteeing people don’t become destitute is a different policy objective and requires different tools.On the care economy: Guardrails and industrial strategy· Yalnizyan: Care is not a residual sector — it is one of the largest engines of employment and GDP in Canada.· Yalnizyan: Without regulatory guardrails, private equity will move quickly into publicly subsidized care sectors and extract value offshore.· Yalnizyan: A real care strategy must include workforce recruitment, retention, skill ladders, and immigration pathways to stabilize the sector.On industrial strategy: Investment, AI, and ownership· Yalnizyan: An investment-first strategy without conditions risks Canada becoming economically dependent while wrapped in a Canadian flag.· Meredith: Canada’s services-heavy economy makes it uniquely exposed to AI disruption and requires deliberate skills and commercialization strategy.On pensions, power, and worker agency· Yalnizyan: Unions should push harder for governance — trustee seats and deeper literacy — because today’s pension investment model can create a dynamic of “preparing tomorrow’s retirees by squeezing today’s workers.”· Meredith: “Fiduciary” language can become a shield against accountability, allocation decisions, fees, and public-purpose alignment, even though pension wealth is a strategic national asset if governed transparently.· Yalnizyan: Canada once deployed CPP savings directly into municipal infrastructure and housing; liberalized post-2000 rules expanded offshore investing and weakened the link between collective savings and domestic public purpose.Armine Yalnizyan – Atkinson Fellow on the Future of WorkersWebsite: https://atkinsonfoundation.ca/atkinson-fellows/atkinson-fellow-on-the-future-of-workers/LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/armine-yalnizyan-a32b42264Youtube Credits: CBC News, CTV News, Global News, 4K Films By Adnan, Videoscape, Pierre Poilievre, balcony et-al, Luis Vega, Shape Properties, GommeBlog, Exploring Stunning Landscapes From Above, Motion Array

The MBP Intelligence Briefing delivers exclusive, insider insight into the policies, decisions, and dynamics shaping Canada’s political and economic landscape.Hosted by Ben Woodfinden, Director of MBP Intelligence and Senior Advisor at Meredith Boessenkool & Phillips, the series features weekly conversations with MBP partners Ken Boessenkool, Tyler Meredith, and Shannon Phillips, along with a monthly guest bringing fresh perspective from business, media, or public policy.Listeners can expect a mix of roundtable discussions unpacking the week’s biggest developments and in-depth interviews exploring emerging ideas and long-term trends. From fiscal outlooks and trade strategy to the forces influencing governance, regulation, and public life, each episode delivers context and clarity rooted in real experience inside government, policy, and politics.This is your exclusive MBP Intelligence Briefing, context, clarity, and strategy for Canada’s evolving political economy.You’re listening to the first 10 minutes of this week’s episode, the full one-hour roundtable is now available exclusively to members of MBP Intelligence.Want the Full Episode?Become a member to unlock:The full, ad-free weekly MBP Intelligence Briefing podcast (1-hour roundtable)Exclusive reports, policy briefings, and member newslettersInvitations to private discussions and eventsAccess to a growing community of policymakers, business leaders, and thinkers shaping the national conversationJoin MBP Intelligence here: https://mbpolicy.com/intelligence/

The MBP Intelligence Briefing delivers exclusive, insider insight into the policies, decisions, and dynamics shaping Canada’s political and economic landscape.Hosted by Ben Woodfinden, Director of MBP Intelligence and Senior Advisor at Meredith Boessenkool & Phillips, the series features weekly conversations with MBP partners Ken Boessenkool, Tyler Meredith, and Shannon Phillips, along with a monthly guest bringing fresh perspective from business, media, or public policy.Listeners can expect a mix of roundtable discussions unpacking the week’s biggest developments and in-depth interviews exploring emerging ideas and long-term trends. From fiscal outlooks and trade strategy to the forces influencing governance, regulation, and public life, each episode delivers context and clarity rooted in real experience inside government, policy, and politics.This is your exclusive MBP Intelligence Briefing, context, clarity, and strategy for Canada’s evolving political economy.You’re listening to the first 10 minutes of this week’s episode, the full one-hour roundtable is now available exclusively to members of MBP Intelligence.Want the Full Episode?Become a member to unlock:The full, ad-free weekly MBP Intelligence Briefing podcast (1-hour roundtable)Exclusive reports, policy briefings, and member newslettersInvitations to private discussions and eventsAccess to a growing community of policymakers, business leaders, and thinkers shaping the national conversationJoin MBP Intelligence here: https://mbpolicy.com/intelligence/

The MBP Intelligence Briefing delivers exclusive, insider insight into the policies, decisions, and dynamics shaping Canada’s political and economic landscape.Hosted by Ben Woodfinden, Director of MBP Intelligence and Senior Advisor at Meredith Boessenkool & Phillips, the series features weekly conversations with MBP partners Ken Boessenkool, Tyler Meredith, and Shannon Phillips, along with a monthly guest bringing fresh perspective from business, media, or public policy.Listeners can expect a mix of roundtable discussions unpacking the week’s biggest developments and in-depth interviews exploring emerging ideas and long-term trends. From fiscal outlooks and trade strategy to the forces influencing governance, regulation, and public life, each episode delivers context and clarity rooted in real experience inside government, policy, and politics.This is your exclusive MBP Intelligence Briefing, context, clarity, and strategy for Canada’s evolving political economy.You’re listening to the first 10 minutes of this week’s episode, the full one-hour roundtable is now available exclusively to members of MBP Intelligence.Want the Full Episode?Become a member to unlock:The full, ad-free weekly MBP Intelligence Briefing podcast (1-hour roundtable)Exclusive reports, policy briefings, and member newslettersInvitations to private discussions and eventsAccess to a growing community of policymakers, business leaders, and thinkers shaping the national conversationJoin MBP Intelligence here: https://mbpolicy.com/intelligence/