Publications & Thought Leadership

This Purpose Policy Options Brief, which I was commissioned to write, explores government reforms and policy measures to support and incentivize businesses and entrepreneurs to adopt and implement a social purpose as the reason they exist. These reforms will help social purpose business thrive, flourish, and grow – and make Canada a great place to operate a social purpose business.

They are designed to mainstream social purpose in business, including both small and medium enterprises and large companies, so that being a social purpose company will be the standard and expected way of doing business in Canada. The Purpose Policy Options Brief recognizes that the ecosystem that supports social purpose business in Canada is in its infancy and needs cultivating for social purpose business to become the new norm. Together, these purpose policy measures create a package of reforms governments can pursue to create an enabling operating context for social purpose businesses to be the default approach to business in Canada. In so doing, policymakers can better align corporate behaviour with public interest and create allies for the work that lies ahead to build a sustainable future for Canadian communities and business.

This Purpose Policy Options Brief is organized into the following sections:

1. Government Benefits for Supporting Social Purpose Business
2. Policy Options for Accelerating Social Purpose Business

• Federal Government (26 themes; 98 measures)
• Provincial Government (21 themes; 85 measures)
• Local Government (18 themes; 52 measures) (plus 13 regional measures)