The Human Freedom Index, 2017 finds Canada is no longer one of the 10 freest countries in the world, having dropped from fourth to 11th, while the United States climbed up seven spots to 17th. The index ranks 159 countries and jurisdictions based on 79 indicators of personal, civil and economic freedoms and is a joint project with the Cato Institute in the U.S. and Germany’s Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom.

Why the Unemployment Rate is No Longer a Reliable Gauge of Labour Market Performance finds that, as Canada’s population ages and more and more Canadians retire and exit the workforce, the employment rate is more reflective of Canada’s labour market. Despite a drop in the unemployment rate from 2008 to 2017, due in part to the shifting demographics, the employment rate also fell from during the same time from 63.4 per cent to 61.6 per cent, indicating declining employment levels.

Room to Grow: Comparing Urban Density in Canada and Abroad compares population densities in 30 metropolitan centres in high-income developed countries, and finds that Canadian cities—including Toronto and Vancouver, which are experiencing an affordability crunch—can accommodate much more housing supply as they have much lower population densities than other major urban centres around the world.