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Canada at the Frontier: A Framework for Industrial Policy

Bentley Allan

April 23, 2026

The Government of Canada is now pursuing ambitious industrial strategies in multiple sectors in order to address national and geopolitical challenges with incredibly high stakes. The time for a renewed effort to understand, track, and inform Canadian industrial policy has never been better.

This report introduces a framework designed to bring analytical discipline to Canadian industrial policy. The framework distinguishes three facets of industrial policy: what governments do (activities), what they realize (measurable outcomes), and what they seek to achieve (long-term societal goals). It proposes that we use these three dimensions to analyze, develop, and systematically track industrial policy with the rigor that democratic structures demand.

About the Author