Strengthening Canada in an age of uncertainty
As published on Substack
The collapse of trade talks between Canada and the United States over the weekend is the latest reminder that we live in an era of uncertainty and unpredictability. In only a few years, geopolitical rivalry, supply-chain disruptions, technological change and a series of economic shocks have overturned long-held assumptions about globalization, security and prosperity.
That upheaval is affecting us all in so many ways. Households are facing higher prices. People are less certain about their jobs and anxious about the future. Businesses are more cautious about investing. It’s unsettling. The world we thought we understood no longer works the way it used to.
Governments around the world are responding by organizing economic policy around sovereignty and resilience. Canada recognized the shift early and has been leading in its approach.
The federal government has adopted an activist approach to the economy, not just through supports for tariff-affected workers and businesses, but also by derisking private investment, identifying projects of national significance and expanding its role in housing, infrastructure, defence and strategic industries.
For business leaders, the practical question is how to respond constructively to this changing policy landscape.
Traditional business priorities, such as growth, productivity, competitiveness, fiscal discipline and open markets, remain essential. But achieving big national goals in this new environment will require business and government to work together more deliberately.
That requires moving beyond identifying problems to collaborating on solutions. Businesses can bring expertise, information, investment and operating experience to the table. Governments can create the policy and regulatory conditions that allow projects to proceed quickly and efficiently. Better information-sharing would help. So would more implementation-ready proposals from business and stronger coordination across jurisdictions.
Against this backdrop, the Business Council of Canada (BCC) launched the Strengthening Canada project in May. The national consultation is bringing business and policy leaders together to consider how Canada can strengthen its economy and institutions in a more uncertain and rapidly changing world, and how the business community can make a constructive contribution.
We began with a comprehensive survey of BCC members: CEOs and entrepreneurs who lead many of Canada’s largest and most influential companies.
Four broad themes emerged from the survey and subsequent conversations.
- Canada must develop its capacity to build a more resilient and sovereign economy. Business leaders overwhelmingly recognize that economic security, resilience and sovereignty now deserve greater policy attention. Canada has many of the assets needed to succeed, but must strengthen the institutions, infrastructure and productive capacity that turn those advantages into results.
- Government will need private sector help to deliver on its goals. Ambition is not enough. Canada must be able to approve projects, mobilize investment, coordinate across jurisdictions and implement decisions at record speed. Businesses can contribute the expertise, investment and operating capacity needed to turn public goals into results.
- Government has a role in fostering strategic sectors but should exercise restraint. Industrial strategy and targeted intervention may be necessary in a more fragmented global economy. Public policy action, however, should be disciplined, transparent and focused on genuine strategic needs rather than broad or permanent market substitution.
- The business community should help shape the capacity-building agenda. Companies can contribute expertise, data, practical solutions and investment commitments, helping governments design initiatives that can be implemented and scaled.
Based on these findings, the BCC is holding a series of roundtables across the country to discuss the ideas in greater detail and identify practical solutions to the challenges Canada faces.
The conversations are centred on two practical questions: What policy, regulatory or institutional change would allow Canadian companies to invest more, build faster or hire more people? And beyond policy, what could the business community contribute to help Canada develop the capacity to deliver?
Our work is ongoing. The aim is to build an agenda that is ambitious, credible and grounded in the experience of those who invest, build and operate across Canada.
At a moment when the world is changing quickly, Canada has an opportunity to combine public ambition with private-sector capability and to turn resilience and sovereignty from aspirations into durable national strengths.
