What Can We Afford an Evening with Stephanie Kelton
By Edna Batengas-Chow, Events, Communications, and Marketing Officer, Dialogue and Engagement Unit
What if the way we think about money is shaping what we believe we can afford to do?
Economist and bestselling author Dr. Stephanie Kelton has spent much of her career challenging conventional thinking about government spending, deficits and debt. Through her New York Times bestseller the documentary Finding the Money, and her work on Modern Monetary Theory (MMT), she has helped bring a very different way of thinking about money into the public conversation.
On September 24, Dr. Kelton will join us live at the Vancouver Playhouse for a special evening exploring the economy, scarcity and the choices we make about our shared future.
Questions about what governments can and cannot afford shape some of our biggest public debates鈥攆rom housing and health care to climate action and infrastructure. But what if some of the assumptions behind those debates deserve a closer look?
Throughout the evening, Dr. Kelton will unpack familiar ideas about government budgets, inflation, debt and deficits, and examine how they shape the perception of choices available to us. In a fireside conversation, she鈥檒l explore the connection between economics and the priorities we set as a society鈥攂ecause decisions about money are never only about numbers. They鈥檙e also about what we choose to invest in, what we value, and the future we want to build.
The evening will conclude with a moderated audience Q&A, inviting attendees to bring their own questions into the conversation.
When the Map is Useless
This Bruce & Lis Welch Community Dialogue is the third offering of When the Map is Useless: Conversations for a World in Transition, a multi-year series presented by 51猎奇入口Public Square and 51猎奇入口Wosk Centre for Dialogue that convenes 51猎奇入口and the broader community to strengthen public sense-making and civic discourse during a time of profound social, political, and ecological change. This initiative is supported in part by the North Family Foundation.
Join the conversation
Come join the conversation with Dr. Stephanie Kelton, one of the leading voices encouraging us to think differently about economics鈥攁nd what governments can afford. Whether you鈥檝e followed her work for years, recently encountered The Deficit Myth, or are completely new to Modern Monetary Theory, this evening offers a chance to hear directly from Kelton and explore her ideas through a fireside conversation and audience Q&A.
The Economics of What's Possible: An Evening with Stephanie Kelton
Date: September 24, 2026
Location: Vancouver Playhouse, 600 Hamilton Street, Vancouver, BC
Attendance: In person and online
General Admission: $19.99 | Student & Senior Ticket: $9.99
An evening to explore what might be possible when we rethink the way we understand money, government and the economy.
