Abstract:
This case examines Canada's shift to gender-responsive budgeting (GRB) under Finance Minister Bill Morneau, showing how fiscal policy can be redesigned to advance equity and strengthen strategic alignment across government. While the case introduces key features of the federal budget cycle, it does not offer a technical deep dive; instead, it provides an accessible overview of how political leadership, departmental dynamics, and financial analysis interact in national budgeting.
The case highlights how departments compete for limited resources, how statutory versus discretionary spending shapes the real decision space, and how proposals must demonstrate need, feasibility, and alignment with government priorities. Budgeting emerges as a strategic and political exercise that requires negotiation among administrative, fiscal, and societal interests.
Canada's adoption of Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA+) as a requirement for budget proposals illustrates the challenges of embedding equity considerations into established systems. Constraints such as limited data, uneven analytical capacity, political resistance, and risks of symbolic compliance complicate implementation.
Budget 2018 provides the central example, showing how equity-oriented initiatives expanded parental leave, support for women entrepreneurs, and gender-based violence prevention competed alongside other priorities. The case encourages students to consider how cost drivers are selected, how analytical choices shape benefit estimates, and how fiscal tools can redistribute opportunities. It also raises questions about institutionalizing reforms through legislation and whether process changes can endure political transitions.
Overall, the case equips students to analyze budgeting as a strategic, political, and equity-relevant process and to evaluate how fiscal frameworks can reinforce or reduce inequality.
Learning Objectives:
Through this case, students will:
- Learn how to build cross-sector contracts within a government.
- Understand how governments develop their budgets, including through an equity-based lens.
- Recognize financial management as a special case of strategic alignment.
- Identify cost drivers that most "fairly" reflect cost behavior.
- Reflect on differing methods that may result in significant variations in cost allocations.
