Global trade policies have real, immediate consequences for Canada’s main streets. In the face of America’s economic assault, Canada’s local businesses, municipalities and economic leaders must navigate uncertainty while ensuring community resilience. How will tariffs impact small businesses, supply chains and local economies? What strategies can cities use to adapt and strengthen their economic foundations?
Join SCP CEO Matthew Mendelsohn and a panel of experts at Canadian Urban Institute’s CityTalk Live, Feb. 14, 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. ET for a discussion of practical, community-driven solutions to bolster local economies in the face of global shifts.
Panelists
Doug Griffiths
President & CEO, Edmonton Chamber of Commerce
Justin Towndale
Mayor, City of Cornwall
Matthew Mendelsohn
CEO, Social Capital Partners
Rino Bortolin
Strategic Advisor & Project Manager, Windsor Law Centre for Cities
Tori Williamson
COO, Buy Social Canada
Moderator
Mary W. Rowe
CEO, Canadian Urban Institute
Share with a friend
Related reading
How Employee Ownership Trusts keep wealth in Canada | Canadian Business
The coming wave of business successions will shape Canada’s economy for generations. In Canadian Business, Jon Shell explains how employee ownership safeguards economic sovereignty, while boosting growth, productivity and local wealth, giving employees struggling with affordability a new source of income. As entrepreneurs and owners seek alternatives to selling abroad, the employee ownership trust (EOT) provides a practical answer. Instead of letting the EOT tax incentive expire at the end of 2026, now is the time for the government to double down on employee ownership.
A housing boom isn’t a win for wealth equality and here’s why
Canada's wealth gap appeared to narrow between 2019 and 2023 and we set out to make sense of this. SCP's Director of Policy Dan Skilleter, the lead author on our 2024 Billionaire Blindspot report, connected with sector colleagues working on wealth concentration and dug into all the best available data. What he found was that the dip was largely a mirage, driven by a pandemic housing boom that temporarily inflated the one asset ordinary Canadians hold: their home. Meanwhile, these soaring prices locked out an entire generation from building wealth altogether.
A Conservative case for Community Benefits Agreements?
When a developer builds a new bridge or transit line, a Community Benefits Agreement ensures the project will also benefit the people living nearby. In Canada, CBAs have long been seen as a progressive policy tool. But what if Conservatives embraced them too, just with different priorities? In this piece, SCP's Director of Policy Dan Skilleter explores how Conservative governments might champion their own vision for CBAs and what that means for advocates on the left. The lesson: if you want good social outcomes from big projects, stop letting perfect be the enemy of the good.



