About Options politiques

Options politiques

Overview

Options politiques — published in English as Policy Options — is the bilingual digital magazine of the Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP), an independent, non-partisan think tank based in Montreal. Founded as a print magazine in 1980, it became a digital-only publication in 2016 and now publishes articles daily, in English and French, on the public-policy questions facing Canada. Its contributors are drawn from academia, research institutions, the political world, the public service and the non-profit and private sectors, and its stated purpose is to open a window on the debates that decision-makers are having — or should be having — while presenting a diversity of viewpoints.

The magazine is free to read online, and it remains active and current in 2026: its site carries a steady flow of new analysis through the year, from a January 2026 examination of ideology and evidence in drug-poisoning policy to an August 2026 critique of the federal major-projects agenda. It should not be confused with Policy Magazine, a separate Ottawa- and Montreal-based publication founded in 2013; Options politiques is the IRPP's magazine and is published only by the Institute.

History

The IRPP was founded in 1972 as an independent, national, bilingual, non-profit research institute, its independence underwritten by an endowment assembled in the early 1970s from federal and provincial governments and private contributors. The magazine followed eight years later: the first issue of Policy Options appeared in March 1980 under founding editor Thomas Worrall (Tom) Kent, the former senior public servant who edited it until 1987. The editor's chair then passed through a succession of journalists and scholars — Walter Stewart (1987–90), Mathew Horsman (1991–93), Alfred Leblanc (1994–98), William Watson (1999–2002), L. Ian MacDonald (2002–12), Bruce Wallace (2012–14) and Dan Gardner (2015–16).

The print magazine was always a modest-circulation publication for a policy readership: the Institute's own history records a peak print circulation of 4,000 copies in 1981. Jennifer Ditchburn, a veteran Canadian Press and CBC parliamentary correspondent, became editor-in-chief in March 2016, and under her editorship the magazine made its decisive change of format, transitioning from print to a digital-only publication in 2016 and publishing daily online thereafter. Ditchburn edited the magazine until 2021, when she was appointed the IRPP's president and CEO, effective 1 June 2021. The magazine's bilingual character was built deliberately over the years: the Institute appointed Sarah Fortin as associate editor with the specific objective of expanding its French content, and an IRPP newsletter later named Marie-Ève Martel as the magazine's French deputy editor.

Content and Coverage

The magazine's content is expert commentary and analysis rather than news reporting. Articles address the full range of Canadian public policy: economic and fiscal policy, health care, climate and energy, the federation, immigration, income security, defence, and the policy implications of new technology. French-language articles appear under the Options politiques name alongside English ones, making it one of the few genuinely bilingual fixtures of the Canadian policy debate.

The 2026 file illustrates the range. In January, Irwin and Speed argued that ideology was replacing evidence in responses to the drug-poisoning crisis; in February, the magazine carried Charlie Buck's argument that the Supreme Court should not limit use of the notwithstanding clause, and an analysis by Rachel Samson and co-authors challenging myths about income support; in April, Joshua van Es examined Canada's digital-sovereignty exposure through foreign-controlled software; in June, it published a detailed critique of the Bill C-12 immigration legislation; and on 31 August 2026, McHenry, O'Brien and Fuller identified a carbon blind spot in the federal major-projects agenda. The magazine also organises thematic series — one recent sequence, noted in the IRPP's newsletter, gathered articles reflecting on five years of cannabis legalisation in Canada — and many articles are republished by other outlets under a Creative Commons licence, which extends their reach well beyond the magazine's own site.

Audience and Reach

The magazine's audience is Canada's policy community: elected officials, senior public servants, researchers, and the experts and stakeholders who follow public policy — the readership the Institute has always aimed at. The IRPP's own historical account records that the magazine's web page received 183,479 views in 2013–14, as its readership shifted online; that figure is a decade old and is presented here only as history. The Institute does not publish a current audited audience figure for the magazine, and none is claimed. Its practical reach is visible instead in its citation and republication: Policy Options articles are routinely cited in academic work, parliamentary submissions and other media, and its arguments surface in national debate — a 2023 IRPP newsletter noted, for example, a Policy Options article by Mario Polèse being discussed at length in La Presse and mentioned by the Quebec premier's office.

Digital Presence

Digital publication is now the magazine's whole existence. The site at policyoptions.irpp.org publishes new articles daily in both languages and archives more than four decades of material. Around the articles sit a set of companion products. The Policy Options Podcast carries several series: Futureproofing Canada, a biweekly conversation programme hosted by IRPP president Jennifer Ditchburn, was still releasing episodes in the autumn of 2026 — including a 30 September 2026 discussion of defence-driven economic opportunity with COVE chief executive Melanie Nadeau, a July 2026 panel on influencers and the political information ecosystem, and spring 2026 episodes with New Brunswick premier Susan Holt and defence expert Jeff Collins. Earlier podcast series include In/Equality, hosted by McGill's Debra Thompson, and In Their Words, which presents magazine articles in audio readings. The Institute also sends a Policy Options newsletter to subscribers on Saturday mornings, and publishes The Functionary, Kathryn May's newsletter on the federal public service, alongside the magazine.

The magazine's digital quality has been recognised in its own right: contributor Tim Caulfield won gold in the Digital Publishing Awards' Best Blog or Online-Only Column category in 2017 for his column The Cure, and Policy Options was a silver medallist at the Canadian Online Publishing Awards in 2017, 2018 and 2019 in the best blog/column and best podcast categories.

Ownership and Organisation

Options politiques is owned and published by the Institute for Research on Public Policy from its offices in Montreal. The Institute is an independent, non-partisan, bilingual non-profit, led since June 2021 by its president and CEO, Jennifer Ditchburn, the magazine's former editor-in-chief. The magazine is produced by a small editorial team within the Institute, working with outside contributors rather than a staff of reporters; its research-fellow and centre structure — including the Centre of Excellence on the Canadian Federation, launched in 2020 with a $10 million federal commitment — supplies part of the expertise the magazine draws on. All IRPP material other than its books, including the magazine, is made available free online, a policy the Institute has maintained throughout the magazine's digital era.

Contact and Availability

Options politiques / Policy Options is published in Montreal by the Institute for Research on Public Policy, whose offices are at 1470 Peel Street, Montreal, Quebec; a business-directory listing gives the Institute's telephone number as 514-985-2461. The magazine is available free at policyoptions.irpp.org, where readers can browse the daily articles, subscribe to the newsletter and find the podcast and submission information for prospective contributors. The public business email field for this listing is left empty.