As global tariffs shift, new trade alliances emerge and artificial intelligence reshapes industries, Canada's economic future is facing unprecedented uncertainty. These challenges will take centre stage during the 35th annual Economic Outlook event at Wilfrid Laurier University on Wednesday, Feb. 11. This free event is open to the public and participants can join online or in person at Lazaridis Hall on Laurier's Waterloo campus. Registration is required.
Presented by the Laurier Centre for Economic Research and Policy Analysis (LCERPA) and Laurier's Lazaridis School of Business and Economics, "Economic Outlook 2026: The Era of Uncertainty" will feature a panel discussion with Angella MacEwan, acting research director and senior economist with the Canadian Union of Public Employees; Trevor Tombe, economics professor at the University of Calgary; and Brian Lewis, senior fellow and lecturer at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto. The discussion will be moderated by Jeff Chan, economics professor and director of LCERPA at the Lazaridis School.
"We are pleased to bring our community together to explore today's most pressing regional and global economic issues," said Chan. "This year, we are celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics at Laurier. Economic Outlook is an ideal example of the Lazaridis School's local, provincial and national impact."
MacEwan has worked as an economist in the Canadian labour movement since 2012. Her primary focus is understanding the impacts of Canadian economic and social policy on workers. MacEwan is the co-author of Share the Wealth! How we can tax Canada's super-rich and create a better country for everyone.
Tombe, director of fiscal and economic policy at the University of Calgary's School of Public Policy, is also a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute whose research includes international and interprovincial trade, fiscal federalism, and public finance. Among his published work, Tombe co-authored textbooks Public Finance in Canada and Macroeconomics.
Lewis is a senior fellow with the C.D. Howe Institute and served as the chief economist for the Ontario government from 2015 to 2022, advising on economic performance, forecasting and policy. He previously taught economics at Laurier, Brock University and the University of Alberta.
Panelists will explore:
- The current state of the Canadian economy, including the impacts of recent global events, Canada-U.S. relations and broader international uncertainty;
- What economic uncertainty looks like and how today's conditions are shifting forecasts away from historical norms and expectations; and,
- How businesses, leaders and governments can adapt through rapidly changing economic policy and conditions.
Economic Outlook takes place Wednesday, Feb. 11, from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Lazaridis Hall on Laurier's Waterloo campus. Admission is free and the event is open to the public both in-person or online. Registration is required.
