From Cost to Investment: Reframing Social Spending in an Affordability Era
An op-ed by Gillian Petit and Selvia Arshad argues that Canada’s current budgeting framework misclassifies social spending as short-term costs, undermining its long-term economic and social value amid ongoing affordability pressures. The authors say programs such as income supports and housing assistance generate significant long-term benefits — including improved health, higher labour participation and reduced future public costs — and should be evaluated as investments using tools like the marginal value of public funds (MVPF). Adopting a “social investment” lens in federal budgeting would help policymakers better prioritize spending, improve equity for low- and middle-income households, and strengthen economic outcomes in an era of fiscal constraint, say Petit and Arshad.
