Investing in Canada’s safety and security
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Dear friends,
I was encouraged this week to see the federal government pledge to increase spending on national defence, reaching two per cent of GDP by the end of this fiscal year. The Business Council of Canada (BCC) has long advocated for the federal government to honour Canada’s commitment to the two per cent threshold.
The move marks an important step for our country. Not only is Canada living up to the promise it made to its NATO partners in 2014, but also the government is increasing its investment in the safety and security of all Canadians. No country should outsource its defence.
Importantly, the government’s announcement on defence spending included a commitment to grow Canada’s defence industrial base. In doing so, the government is ensuring taxpayers’ money will be invested back into the economy and Canada’s innovation ecosystem.
We wrote about the benefits of a defence industrial policy in our recent report Security & Prosperity. Our position on the importance of investing in defence and defence industries has always included a call for any increase to be paid for by way of a federal program review.
Defence investment was also the subject of a recent conversation we facilitated at Canadian Club Toronto. BCC members Blake Hutcheson, Éric Martel and Nancy Southern shared their perspectives on the importance of rebuilding Canada’s defence industrial base. In a reflection of the importance of this sector for Canadian workers, the event included remarks from Roxanne Dubois, Executive Assistant to the National President of Unifor, and David Chartrand, General Vice-President of IAM Union. I encourage you to watch the discussion.
Over the next few days, Group of Seven leaders will arrive in Alberta for the 2025 G7 Leaders’ Summit. Prime Minister Mark Carney has also invited some other world leaders to attend meetings, including Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.
This is welcome news. In April, I wrote to the Prime Minister urging him to extend this invitation in the name of bolstering regional trade. In addition to strengthening bilateral ties between Mexico and Canada, President Sheinbaum’s attendance offers the opportunity for the leaders of Canada, the United States and Mexico to meet and discuss the expedited review and extension of our trilateral trade agreement, the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement.
Finally, I am watching with interest the speed with which the federal government is trying to pass Bill C-5. The legislation focuses on breaking down internal trade barriers (more on that below), as well as speeding up the process for approving projects deemed to be in the national interest. It reflects an urgency business leaders have been calling for. You can read my full statement here.
Yours truly,
Goldy Hyder
President and CEO
Business Council of Canada
Latest Newsletters
Investing more to defend ourselves and strengthen our economy
November 29, 2024
Laurent Ferreira is blunt when he assesses the state of Canada’s economic trouble. “The status of our economy is red,” he said in a June 9 conversation with Goldy Hyder at the Conférence de Montréal.
The president and CEO of National Bank of Canada stressed the urgency for Canada to strengthen its economy in light of geopolitical uncertainty. He’s optimistic the country will take action, saying now is the time to “get projects built across the country, get to the bottom of what are the causes of our economic performance, and move forward.”
Listen to the full conversation on the latest edition of the Speaking of Business podcast.
After their meeting last week, Canada’s First Ministers shared an ambition to “build a stronger, more competitive, and more resilient Canadian economy.”
Now they need to show some action.
One of the fastest ways to demonstrate their resolve is to break down Canada’s interprovincial trade barriers once and for all. Goldy Hyder joined five other business leaders in a concerted call to end these internal tariffs.
Three times a year, the BCC surveys its members to capture real-time perspectives on Canada’s business landscape. The latest survey, conducted in May, reveals growing concern over global instability and trade uncertainty.
