Jim Stanford
Jim Stanford is Economist and Director of the Centre for Future Work, based in Vancouver, Canada. Jim is one of Canada’s best-known economic commentators. He served for over 20 years as Economist and Director of Policy with Unifor, Canada’s largest private-sector trade union.
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Workers Strike Back
Some observers called 2023 the Year of the Strike, and at times that moniker was fitting. Across a wide range of industries, workers hit the picket lines to support demands for pay increases that kept up with surging inflation. Over the first nine months of 2023 (the latest data at time of writing), Canada lost a total of 2.2 million work days to work stoppages...
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Risks and Uncertainties Facing Canada’s Economy in 2024
Canada’s economy enters the New Year facing a wide range of challenges and uncertainties: high interest rates, stalling economic growth, and rising unemployment. To review the outlook, CBC Radio’s Sunday Magazine, hosted by Piya Chattopadhyay, recently broadcast a full 20-minute interview with Centre for Future Work Director Jim Stanford.
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Review of Gas Price Roller-Coaster in 2023 Revealed Important Lessons
As 2023 drew to a close, it wa3s instructive to review the path of gasoline prices (which are the most volatile major component in Canada’s consumer price index) over the year. According to the GasBuddy website, the average price on December 31 was $1.39/litre. That was 5₵ cheaper than at the beginning of 2023. But gas prices followed a long, winding road to get there.
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New Data on Continued Record Profits in Canadian Food Retail
Economy-wide inflation in Canada slowed down notably in 2023. The unique factors that drove the initial surge in inflation after the COVID pandemic (including shortages of key commodities, disrupted supply chains, and a global oil price shock) have mostly abated. High interest rates imposed by central banks in Canada and elsewhere have undermined economic growth and job-creation...
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Testimony to House of Commons Finance Committee Pre-Budget Hearings
Centre for Future Work Economist and Director Jim Stanford was invited to present testimony to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance, as part of its annual pre-budget hearings. Here are his opening remarks, presented on October 19, 2023.
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On Canadian Unionism, History, and Phony Horse-Races
Auto unions in both Canada and the U.S. are currently engaged in high-stakes negotiations with the three major North American automakers (GM, Ford, and Stellantis – formerly Chrysler). The two unions have similar goals: to make sure workers share in the gains these companies are making. It’s important to know the different histories, structures, and cultures of the two unions, before making any simplistic comparisons between them. Centre for Future Work Director Jim Stanford considers those differences in this commentary, originally published by rabble.ca.
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Union Coverage and Inequality in Canada
International evidence attests to the positive role of trade unions and collective bargaining in lifting wages and economic security for workers, and reducing inequality – both within workplaces, and across society. In this article, originally published in Jacobin magazine, labour law professor David Doorey (from York University) and Centre for Future Work Director Jim Stanford present Canadian data on the link between the strength of the union movement and trends in income inequality. The material was prepared for the forthcoming third edition of Doorey’s best-selling labour law textbook, The Law of Work.
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Interrogating the Labour Shortage Hypothesis
Canada’s Senate is investigating temporary migrant labour programs in Canada, which have expanded rapidly in the last two years, and their impact on labour markets and other issues. The Centre for Future Work’s Jim Stanford was invited to provide testimony on the issue of whether a purported “labour shortage” necessitates increased temporary migration inflows to Canada. Here is an annotated transcript of his testimony.
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Short Film Explores Benefits of Workers’ Collective Voice for Workplaces and the Economy
The Centre for Future Work is proud to announce the release of a new animated film dramatizing the many ways workers with collective voice, representation, and bargaining power can make workplaces safer, more productive, more stable, and more fair.
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Canada’s Grocery Giants Spend Billions on their Own Shares
Amidst public anger at high food prices, Canada’s major supermarket chains have argued they are not the source of the problem. Food prices are high, they claim, because of higher costs charged by food processors and other suppliers. While their profits have grown to record highs during the current inflationary episode, they claim this merely reflects a normal profit ‘margin’...