Share a vision in the West

April 28 has come and gone. We have a new prime minister, whose party has 169 seats — three short of a majority.

And now the provinces and Ottawa must turn their full attention to putting our nation on firm footing to defend the economic threat bearing down upon our jobs, livelihoods and future prosperity.

This most immediately means the tariff war with the U.S., but also the frailties in our complacent approach to trade; we’ve taken for granted the easy access to a lucrative market.

It’s time we got to work to build a stronger, more resilient base.

Prime Minister Mark Carney has set what could be the stage to raise our country’s trade profile and productivity.

Carney, in his post-election news conference, spoke to the need for a Team Canada approach. This included nation-building, focusing on “how to” not “why,” providing reasonable time frames to make decisions, and embracing investment in projects of national significance.

Each is a worthy objective.

Each commit to the vision of a country confident in shaping its future given the wake-up call from south of the border.

Each embraces determination to assert a rightful place, presence and role in global affairs.

The challenges of growing the economy are not only immense, given our historical reliance on the U.S. market, but daunting given Trump’s tariff appetite. Trade accounts for 66 per cent of Canada’s GDP and three-quarters of our exports go to that single market.

So how do we achieve those objectives? In early February, our industry provincially, regionally and nationally, called upon political leadership at all government levels to embrace a four-pronged national approach.

First, eliminate internal trade barriers to free approximately $200 billion of economic activity annually.

Second, ensure Canada builds the necessary assets, including pipelines. This will help export our products east, west and north, so that our oil, gas, LNG, mineral resources and agriculture products can efficiently reach global markets and expand our global trade profile.

Third, harness the full value of existing free trade agreements and engage in trade discussions with more countries to further grow and diversify our global import/export market profile.

And fourth, to help achieve the above, ensure a strategic and sustained nation-building effort to invest in Canada’s trade gateways and corridors as called for in the Canada Trade Infrastructure Plan (CTIP).

Its principles were embraced at the July 2023 meeting of the Premiers’ Council of the Federation. CTIP urges investment in shovel-worthy, not just shovel-ready, projects. Its criteria prioritize projects that offer national and global trade-productivity gains, maximizing the nation’s return on investment.

We welcome the fact the policy platforms of two mainstream political parties during the recent election reflected the imperatives of the above points.

But Canada needs assurance that national vision and purpose truly drives Carney’s leadership.

The four elements necessary for economic resilience serve the interests of all provinces and territories — each of the premiers and territorial leaders can readily recognize “what’s in it” for their citizens and future economic development needs.

The country needs a unifying call-to-action, a fact underscored by the pandering we hear to the minority separatist sentiment in Alberta.

And so, to that end, in a May 7 letter to the prime minister, the Western Canada Roadbuilders and Heavy Construction Association made an appeal.

It wrote: “As you plan your first 100 days in office as prime minister, and as part of a ‘Team Canada’ approach, we respectfully urge that you deliver your vision, proposed direction and destination for Canada in a major policy address from a location in western Canada.”

If accepted by the prime minister, that would frankly be historic.

Moreover, it would help assuage concerns, whether legitimate or not, that western Canadian alienation worries will be moot in a federal government that listens attentively, acts purposefully and is a government for all people of Canada.

Chris Lorenc is president and CEO of the Manitoba Heavy Construction Association and the Western Canada Roadbuilders & Heavy Construction Association.