Canadians and their governments wrote the book on how to tame deficits in the mid-1990s - and American politicians should look north in their 2012 election for guidance as they struggle for public support to balance Washington's budget. In a new book published by MLI, Brian Lee Crowley, Robert P. Murphy and Niels Veldhuis examine the lessons Americans and their political leaders might draw from Canada's fiscal reforms.

Since the release of the book, MLI's Brian Lee Crowley and Robert P. Murphy wrote an op-ed in The Globe and Mail, Crowley published an op-ed in Roll Call, and the book was highlighted in columns in The Wall Street Journal, The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star and iPolitics. Click here for more details.

Canada can better boost innovation and productivity by simply encouraging more competition. In Public Policies to Encourage Innovation and Productivity, Professor Steven Globerman says reducing barriers to market entry in Canada will facilitate the emergence of new firms and introduce new products that will foster competition. According to Globerman, "There is abundant evidence that competition promotes commercialization of new products as well as adoption of new production and organizational processes. The empirical evidence documents a strong link between the openness of an economy and productivity growth."

MLI has won the 2012 Templeton Freedom Award for Special Achievement by a Young Institute. The award recognises outstanding performance by an institute that is less than five years old and is presented by the Atlas Economic Research Foundation. MLI is the only Canadian think tank recognised by the international prize program this year, and one of only two young institutes worldwide to be recognised for outstanding achievement. Click here for more information.

On October 4th, MLI hosted its first Great Canadian Debate of the season, Resolved: Canada no longer needs the CBC, to a sold-out crowd at the Canadian War Museum! Ottawa Citizen columnist and one of Canada's leading political commentators, Andrew Coyne, took on Mark Starowicz, Executive Director of Documentary Programming for CBC Television, in a lively and intelligent debate. To watch the debate again courtesy of CPAC, view photos and read the opening statements published in the Ottawa Citizen, click here.

Our next debate, Resolved: The War of 1812 has been over-hyped, will take place on November 7th at 7 PM at the Canadian War Museum. Join us as The Globe and Mail's Jeffrey Simpson and Canadian historian Jack Granatstein debate whether the War of 1812 was a pointless conflict not worth commemorating or a foundation stone for today's Canada and the United States that deserves a place of honour in our respective national memories. Debate includes a Q&A session followed by a private reception and access to the Museum's special exhibit on the War of 1812. For more information and to get your tickets today, visit our website.

A special thank you to our sponsors: Ottawa Citizen, Certified General Accountants, iPolitics, coverage provided by CPAC, The Great Waterway, City of Brockville, St. Lawrence Alliance, Free Thinking Film Society, and The Dorchester Review.

In his columns for the Ottawa Citizen, Calgary Herald and Vancouver Sun, MLI's Brian Lee Crowley discusses how the EU prize says much about the Nobel committee, why CEOs shouldn't only have eyes for China, why we should worry about inflation, and how PQ governments come and go. 

In the Financial Post, MLI's Philip Cross writes about raising interest rates and the relationship between Chrysler and the Canadian Auto Workers union. He also outlines the serious errors in Mark Carney's 'dead money' comments.

In The Globe and Mail, MLI Senior Fellow Linda Nazareth writes about Canada's options if the economy slows, wage growth, the implications of smaller households, and why university offers best return on investment,