prime minister
said new
will give the country a clear goal: double un-American
over 10 years, which would bring in an additional $300 billion. This is a big ambition, which begs the question: how?
We have products to sell, especially in commodity-rich Western Canada, and there are clear signals from Europe and the Indo-Pacific that they want to do more business with Canada. Indeed, some have expressed disappointment and bewilderment that we cannot provide them with what they want. We were even accused of hoarding.
Energy, agriculture,
and much more. We have what the world wants and needs, so why can't we seize the moment?
In the West, we often point to a country's trading infrastructure system. Indeed, we have an aging infrastructure of railways, roads and ports that is often bursting at the seams. But the challenges go beyond the possibilities. The Port of Vancouver, for example, had a record first half of the year, with cargo traffic up 13 percent between January and June. There are also two expansion plans in the works: Roberts Bank and Deltaport.
This is a reason to celebrate, but it would be PR to show that everything is fine.
There were labor disputes (remember 2023 and 2024?), periodic legal disputes and regulatory hurdles for expansion projects (Roberts Bank took more than 10 years), weather delays (the 2021 floods are hard to forget), and rail and road bottlenecks and delays in the western provinces. The port expansion is worthy of applause, but it is not a panacea.
The West's trade infrastructure problems cannot be solved with a new pier at the port, a new road bypassing the floodplain, or double-track sections of the railroad. This is a complex, integrated network that requires a holistic approach, which is why many organizations, including the Canada West Foundation, have come together to advance a national trade infrastructure plan.
The sea-sea-sea trade corridor plan, evergreen and driven by government and industry, will help eliminate short-sighted decisions based on four-year election cycles or other political imperatives and achieve end-to-end network improvements.
Another bottleneck is the abundance of bureaucratic red tape in Canada. We have a cumbersome Impact Assessment Act, but it is often necessary to carry out two different but simultaneous assessments on the same project. It takes time and money, with little evidence of better results.
Recognizing this, Carney promised that the new Major Projects Authority would work with provinces, territories, First Nations and private investors to create a “one project, one review” approach to project approvals.
There are several ways to achieve this goal. The oft-cited Cedar LNG project cleared the approval process in a record 3.5 years because the federal government agreed that B.C.'s assessment could supersede its own.
British Columbia conducted the assessment in accordance with both provincial and federal government requirements. Ultimately, both levels made their own decisions, and federal approval came the day after B.C.'s decision.
Substitution is just one alternative available to governments. Delegation, in which one government delegates some but not all of the activity to another, is the second option, and dividing assessments based on areas of constitutional jurisdiction is the third.
The key to all of this is cooperation and cooperation. Both sides must be, in World Series parlance, ready to play ball.
Failure to control is a risk, but policy and regulation are often tools used by governments to manage risk. If Canada is to succeed in building its future, governments will need the courage to change the rules and take more risks.
This does not mean that if we solve our internal problems, trade will flow freely. There are and always will be external factors beyond our control. Political barriers such as China's 100 percent barrier
For imported Canadian canola oil, protectionist policies such as mandatory country of origin labeling of pasta in Italy or European Union carbon adjustment duties levied on select imports can be debated, but ultimately the decisions are ultimately out of our control.
These non-tariff and other regulatory obstacles often seem insurmountable, and it is understandable that we often choose the easier trade route to the south. But relying solely on the US market is no longer an option.
As Carney warned, finding new markets won't be easy, and success won't come overnight. The country will need to work together to identify the most effective investments and move them through the review and approval process efficiently.
Trade built this country. The next decade will determine whether it can shape our future.
Gary Mahr is the executive director of the Canada West Foundation.
