David Macdonald

About David Macdonald

David Macdonald is a senior economist with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. He joined the centre in 2011, although he has been a long time contributor as a research associate. Since 2008, he has coordinated the Alternative Federal Budget, which takes a fresh look at the federal budget from a progressive perspective. David has also written on a variety of topics, from Canada's real estate bubble to Aboriginal income inequality. He is a regular media commentator on national policy issues. He is the author of the report Picking up the Tab: A complete accounting of federal and provincial COVID-19 measures in 2020.

David received his BA from the University of Windsor and his MA from the University of Guelph, both in Philosophy.

9 Articles

Ottawa is flush with cash, short on political courage as recession looms

The federal government has lots of cash, but little political courage, writes David Macdonald, a senior economist with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

Opinion | November 4th 2022

The next session of Parliament could fix health care, slash emissions and tackle inequality. Will it rise to the challenge?

The fall session will be anything but boring and the federal government must take concrete steps to increase income security, writes David Macdonald.

Opinion, Climate Solutions Reporting | September 19th 2022

If we have a recession, it will be one engineered on purpose

Perhaps it’s time to challenge the old orthodoxy because the Bank of Canada is unlikely to reach its target of two per cent inflation without causing a recession.

Opinion | July 27th 2022

A Pearsonian moment? Not in this budget

The biggest extension to health care by far in this budget was a national dental care program. This went from obscurity to policy in a matter of months due to its inclusion in the Liberal-NDP agreement.

Opinion | April 7th 2022

What the new Liberal-NDP agreement means for Budget 2022

With the budget on the horizon, we won’t have long to wait to see if the fine print matches the expectations.

Opinion | April 4th 2022

Chrystia Freeland speaks at a press conference on March 18, 2020. File photo by Kamara Morozuk

Budget 2021 applies lessons learned from COVID-19

This was the largest public health and economic crisis since the Second World War, and it has clearly illustrated how our health and social safety nets are lacking, writes David Macdonald, senior economist with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

Opinion | April 19th 2021