Economic and Fiscal Policy Branch

Economic and Fiscal Policy

Assistant Deputy Minister: Nick Leswick

Associate Assistant Deputy Minister: Alison McDermott

Economic Studies and Policy Analysis Division

• Director General: Claude Lavoie

Economic Analysis and Forecasting Division

• Director General: Julie Turcotte

Fiscal Policy Division

• Director General: Brad Recker

Staff of approximately – 75

Majority are economists (MA/Ph.D.)

Branch Structure

Fiscal Policy

• Revenue and expense forecasting
• Fiscal strategy
• Coordination of the budget process

Economic Forecasting

• Analysis of current economic developments
• Forecasts of the Canadian and U.S. economy
• Liaison with private sector economists (i.e., "private sector survey")

Economic Policy Analysis

• Applied economic research
• Ad-hoc ministerial advisory councils (e.g., Advisory Council on Economic Growth)
• Medium-term policy analysis

Hot Topics

• Finalizing 2018-19 financial results
• Managing off-cycle pressures and new funding decisions
• Monitoring Canadian and global economic developments
  • Impacts of U.S. trade policy
  • Global oil price benchmarks
  • Monetary policy stance

Annex: Economic Studies and Policy Analysis Division – Examples of Work

• Scenario analysis on the impacts of NAFTA withdrawal
• Potential impacts and policy implications of disruptive technologies
• Trends and drivers of the gender income gap
• Performance of EI and progressive income taxes as automatic stabilizers
• Trends in technological diffusion across firms
• Link between competition and productivity, with a focus on air transport/financial services
• Costing of a national approach to pharmacare
• Wealth accumulation and inequality across and within cohorts
• Mortgage lending behavior of Canada's large financial institutions
• Impact of innovation programs on firm performance