History tells us that crises on the scale of this pandemic reorder social and economic priorities in ways that can lead to lasting change. Following the Great Depression and the Second World War, Western democracies fashioned modern welfare states that underpinned an economic renaissance for working people. The sense of interconnectedness generated by global catastrophe produced the political will required for countries like Canada to help build more equal and prosperous societies.
Canada has thus far been fortunate in this regard; our relatively high levels of social cohesion have contributed to an effective COVID-19 response. Yet the pandemic has exposed deep inequalities that speak to the frailty of our social fabric. Workers on the front lines tend to be those who have benefited least from a growing economy. Grocery store clerks, cleaners, delivery people and sanitation workers are putting their lives on the line so others can cope.
First, advanced education has always been an essential driver of economic progress, nurturing the development of human capital that is necessary for innovation as well as increases to productivity and incomes. Today, with millions unemployed and many industries unlikely to fully recover, governments can marshal post-secondary education to re-skill and educate a disrupted and displaced workforce to meet the needs of a greener, more dynamic economy.