A new report from the Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP) shows that even governments that claim to oppose industrial policies are implementing them.
In The Resurgence of Industrial Policy and What It Means for Canada the authors suggest that the success of countries that are openly pursuing industrial policies and the role industrial policies have played in the past in all developed countries mean more countries will be adopting industrial policies.
What is far from certain is whether governments will admit they have industrial policies or attempt to use resources effectively. The report states Canada “has a profusion of industrial policies, what it lacks is a strategy.” And without an industrial and environmental strategy there is a risk different industrial policies will be working against each other. We also lose the opportunity to have the kind of debate about what should be in an industrial and environmental strategy that is needed if it is going to meet the needs of the country as a whole.