Canada’s population is retiring earlier and living longer. Even so, the age 65 retirement threshold, inherited from 19th-century Prussia, continues to anchor public policy and social expectations. In this episode, Professor Kevin Milligan (Professor of Economics, University of British Columbia) joins host Marwa Abdou to breakdown how this outdated convention often fails to account for disparities in health and life expectancy across income levels and regions, and how it can unintentionally push the most vulnerable seniors into poverty. In addition, the conversation explores the demographic changes that are at odds with the short-term focus of political planning cycles (which rarely extend beyond five years), and how policies need reform so that Canadians can not only survive in retirement but truly thrive.

Links:

- Kevin Milligan, University of British Columbia, Vancouver School of Economics

- Kevin Milligan, C.D. Howe Institute

- Kevin Milligan, Globe and Mail

- The time of your life: The mortality and longevity of Canadians

- Retirement incentives and decisions across the income distribution: Evidence in Canada

- Health and Capacity to Work of Older Canadians: Gender and Regional Dimensions with Tammy Schirle

- The Evolution of Longevity: Evidence from Canada,” with Tammy Schirle

Do Canada’s public policies reflect the reality of today’s workers?

Many of the social programs Canadians rely on for economic security were designed in and for a very different era. Built around a mid-20th-century vision of work and family life, programs like Employment Insurance, the Canada Pension Plan, and key parts of our tax system still assume a post-war era worker that is full-time, uninterrupted and unburdened by caregiving.

In this extended episode, Professors Tammy Schirle (Wilfrid Laurier University) and Jennifer Robson (Carleton University) join host Marwa Abdou to unpack how caregiving responsibilities, gender inequities and access barriers collide with outdated policy assumptions. From motherhood penalties to administrative red tape, this conversation examines the hidden gaps shaping Canadians’ financial stability — and what it will take to build a system that works for today’s workforce.

Links:

- Tammy Schirle, Wilfrid Laurier University
- Jennifer Robson, Carleton University

- Tammy Schirle, C.D. Howe

- Jennifer Robson, Policy Options, IRPP

- Food insecurity among Canadian adults with disabilities is shockingly high. Here’s what we could do about that.(Robson, 2024)

- State Capacity and Administrative Burdens on Citizens: Time for Export Controls and Transparency (Robson, 2024)

- Finances of the Nation: Federal and Provincial Income Support Programs for Seniors in Canada (Schirle, 2024)

- What Proportion of Tax Returns Could the Canada Revenue Agency Complete? (Genest-Grégoire, Robson et al., 2023)

In this episode of Canada’s Economy, Explained, host Marwa Abdou sits down with Avi Goldfarb—Rotman Chair in Artificial Intelligence and Healthcare at the University of Toronto, and co-author of Prediction Machines and Power and Prediction.

Goldfarb is one of the world’s leading economists on the business implications of AI. Together, they examine why Canada, despite its early leadership in AI research, is lagging in adoption. Goldfarb explains that AI’s real power isn’t automation—it’s prediction. And while Canada has outstanding academic talent and AI research hubs, it hasn’t yet translated that strength into broad commercial or public-sector impact. “We’re still figuring out what the organization of the future looks like,” he says in the episode, while cautioning that hesitation gives global competitors time to scale. They explore the economic promise of AI in healthcare, education, and public services, as well as the risks of overregulation, particularly with laws like Bill C-27. Goldfarb offers a clear message: Canada must act now or risk falling behind.

Links:

- Avi Goldfarb's Website

- Creative Destruction Lab

- Prediction Machines: The Simple Economics of Artificial Intelligence (2018)

- Power and Prediction: The Disruptive Economics of Artificial Intelligence (2022)
- Machine Intelligence and Human Judgment (IMF - June 2025)

Other Resources:

- Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence by Paul Scharre

- The Work of the Future: Building Better Jobs in an Age of Intelligent Machines by David Autor, David A. Mindell and Elisabeth B. Reynolds