Brian Emmett, our Chief Economist, and Harvey Sims, the former Chief Economist, Privy Council Office for the Government of Canada and Ottawa-based consultant, co-authored a discussion paper about the tax incentives for charitable giving in Canada paying particular attention to the proposed Stretch Tax Credit.  

This paper gathers and interprets existing evidence about the impact of tax changes on donations and taxes using a simple economic approach. It also summarizes some of the other economic and policy-related implications of changes in tax-treatment of donations that are important for charities to consider.

Released in March 2015.

The discussion paper, by Chief Economist Brian Emmett and co-author Geoffrey Emmett, invites Canadians, governments, businesses and communities to not only think of charities as purpose driven but also as an essential component driving Canada’s economy.

Released in June 2015. 

Through a series of scenarios that project the state of the charitable and nonprofit sector in 2026, chief economist Brian Emmett identifies a looming social deficit.

Released in October 2016.

This national report provides the first comprehensive look at how Canadian charities are measuring and evaluating their work, how they are talking with their funders about evaluation, and what enablers and barriers they are facing.

In 2018, we surveyed charities across Canada about their measurement and evaluation practices. Through this research, we discovered how the sector is talking about the impact of their work.

March 2019

As Canadian charities face a long-term crisis of financial sustainability, they are looking at ways to increase earned income. At the same time, for-profit businesses have become more active in areas once thought to be the unique domain of charities. 

This discussion paper, by Chief Economist Brian Emmett, argues that for-profit businesses and charities co-exist in many markets, both benefiting from government support, and that tax policy has little, if any, effect on market shares and earnings of for-profit businesses.

Released in January 2019.