As this years National Student Paper Competition (NSPC) is wrapping up, the Canada School of Public Service, in collaboration with the Canadian Association of Programs in Public Administration (CAPPA) and the Canadian Association for Graduate Studies (GAGS), are happy to share that the winner of this edition is Stephanie Deò from Simon Fraser University with her paper “Separating Homes from Speculation: A Public Finance Market-Design Approach to Canada’s Housing Crisis.”
Want to learn more about their ideas for improving Canada’s federal public service? Click on the title to read the winner’s essay and those of the finalists.
Stephanie Deò (WINNER) – Biography
Steph Deò is a second-year PhD student in economics at Simon Fraser University. She holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in economics, completing both in just over three years after beginning her Undergraduate studies in 2021. Prior to academia, she worked as a Journeyman Hairstylist and operated her own business during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Steph has held leadership roles including Vice President Academic for the Society of Undergraduates in Economics and served as a Graduate Student Representative on the Faculty of Arts Council at the University of British Columbia. She also gained policy experience from interning in the CEO’s office at the Alberta Energy Regulator.
Her research focuses on first-world development, particularly the distributional effects of policy on the middle class and the intersection of income, consumption, and wealth inequality in North America. Her current work aims to bridge academic research and practical policy.
Abstract
Canada’s housing affordability crisis reflects not only supply constraints but a structural asymmetry: investors with existing equity or rental income face weaker effective borrowing limits than principal-residence buyers, allowing them to outbid credit-constrained households. Using Statistics Canada ownership data from 2020–2023, this paper documents that investor share of marginal ownership growth increased sharply in Ontario and British Columbia as borrowing costs rose, consistent with systematically differential credit access. I propose an administrative market-segmentation framework designating properties as Principal Residence (P) or Rental (R), enabling targeted policies to reduce direct competition between leveraged investors and owner-occupiers while preserving rental supply.
Mark McCleary (Finalist) – Biography
Mark McCleary is a student in the Master of Public Service program at the University of Waterloo. He previously completed a bachelor’s degree in history at the University of Guelph and a postgraduate certificate in government relations at Seneca College. Prior to undertaking graduate studies, he spent eight years primarily in not-for-profit management and government relations. His experience includes working as a non-profit management consultant, a membership coordinator for the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada, and as a government and community relations coordinator for the President of York University. He is currently a student analyst at the Ontario Ministry of Finance.
Mark’s research interests include the evolution of Canadian federalism, public sector executive governance, and the history of Canada’s parliamentary tradition. He lives in Toronto with his fiancé and spends much of his free time reading or walking his dog.
Abstract
This paper analyzes the Canada Small Business Financing Program (CSBFP) and makes recommendations for how it can better support economic diversification and resilience. The CSBFP provides government-backed guarantees to loans issued by financial institutions to commercial borrowers. Drawing on historical data, this paper argues that the CSBFP’s benefits have become too concentrated in the accommodation and food services and retail sectors. It proposes targeted amendments to make the CSBFP more practical for more areas of the economy, such as the green and digital sectors. This can in turn support a more resilient economic environment.
Andrea Friesen (Finalist) – Biography
Andrea Friesen is a graduate student pursuing a Master of Public Administration at the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Saskatchewan. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Kwantlen Polytechnic University in British Columbia. Andrea has over seventeen years of experience working with a provincial occupational health and safety regulator, including eight years in policy development and administration. Her work focuses on regulatory quality, policy analysis, and the design of evidence-based frameworks to improve outcomes in complex systems. She has a particular interest in how administrative processes shape real-world access to services and opportunities. Andrea is passionate about strengthening public institutions through practical, efficient policy solutions that enhance fairness, transparency, and system performance.
Abstract
This paper examines inefficiencies in Canada’s credential recognition system, focusing on duplicative and time-consuming document verification processes that delay labour-market entry for internationally trained professionals. Despite strong demand for skilled workers, fragmented verification processes across jurisdictions contribute to underemployment and skills underutilization. This paper proposes a national “Trusted Credentials” pre-verification service to standardize and centralize primary-source document verification without altering regulators’ authority over licensing decisions. By enabling a portable and reusable verification package, the model reduces duplication, accelerates assessment timelines, and supports earlier workforce integration. This targeted reform improves system efficiency without altering regulatory standards or immigration selection processes.
Jaweria Qaiser (Finalist) – Biography
Jaweria Qaiser is a PhD candidate in Social and Personality Psychology at the University of Toronto, supervised by Dr. Jennifer Stellar. Her research examines compassion and emotion perception, focusing on how people interpret emotions in group settings. Using psychophysiological, vision science, and behavioural methods, she studies when compassion sustains engagement and when emotional overload leads to misinterpretation or disengagement. Her work has been published in Affective Science and is currently under invited revision at the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Jaweria has received SSHRC Canada Graduate Masters and Doctoral Scholarships, the Ontario Graduate Scholarship, and the SSHRC Storytellers Award. She teaches and mentors at U of T and creates multimedia projects that translate emotion science into accessible, real-world insights.
Abstract
Emotionally demanding roles across Canada’s federal public service require sustained compassion, yet high rates of burnout and turnover are often attributed to “compassion fatigue,” the assumption that caring erodes over time. Drawing on emerging psychological evidence, this paper challenges this assumption, arguing that compassion often persists while the burden of sustaining it accumulates. Reframing compassion fatigue as a systemic issue, the paper proposes three policy interventions: classifying emotionally demanding roles, embedding recovery‑focused work structures, and integrating compassion burden into performance metrics. Together, these recommendations aim to sustain workforce well‑being while preserving service excellence.
Mariève Bégin (Finalist) – Biography
Mariève Bégin is a candidate for the joint master’s degree in international studies at Université Laval and Sciences Po Bordeaux. She holds a bachelor’s degree in applied communication from Université de Sherbrooke and worked for seven years as a journalist at Radio-Canada in Montréal, Moncton and Sherbrooke, followed by one year at TVA Montréal, where she specialized in making complex international issues accessible to the public. As a recipient of a scholarship from the Couche‑Tard Research Chair on Global Value Chains, her research interests are the interactions between geopolitics, international security and trade, with particular attention to the weaponization of interdependencies in critical minerals supply chains. She served as a moderator at the 17th University–Defence Conference (UniDef 2026), which brought together academic, industrial and military experts from across Canada to discuss the pan‑domain operational space. This summer, Mariève will complete a four‑month internship with the International Security and Political Affairs Branch at Global Affairs Canada.
Abstract
In the face of rising geopolitical tensions and Canada’s underinvestment in research and technology and venture capital, this essay proposes developing dual-use technology to strengthen Canada’s economy and national security.
Three key recommendations:
- Offer targeted tax incentives to stimulate local venture capital.
- Create a Canadian strategic venture capital fund to foster public-private partnerships.
- Launch a digital platform for Canada’s strategic synergy to coordinate research, industry and government.
This public policy will reduce dependence on American capital and help Canada fulfill its commitments to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Canadian strategic venture capital for dual-use technology – Mariève Bégin