By Derek H. Burney and Raymond Chrétien
With the election now behind us, Canada needs to confront tactfully the Trump tariff barrage and move swiftly to rectify, with bold policy reforms, the dismal decade of drift that has delivered chronically low economic growth and productivity performances. While Donald Trump’s tariff mania is causing huge uncertainty and confusion around the globe, and particularly for Canada, the unprecedented surge of national pride and unity across the country suggests that Canada is ready for serious change. Self-reliance is the new watchword. Complacency is not. We must confront the new reality of Trump’s world with action to safeguard our economic and national security interests, and by expanding our prospects for both with like-minded allies and real friends.
Here is a core agenda for the new government:
1)
Our economic growth policy framework on taxes, regulations, investment initiatives and project approval processes must be revamped to build a more competitive Canada, especially vis-à-vis the United States. The focus of tax reform should be more effective corporate and capital gains tax rates to attract business investment. The needs of small and medium-sized businesses should receive a higher priority.
2)
Remove all impediments to the development of our huge energy and natural resource products and expedite permitting of facilities to support exports to receptive markets for oil and LNG in Europe and Asia. Empower our natural resource sector in a similar manner to exploit Canada’s strengths in raw and rare earth minerals. Development of the “Ring of Fire” in northern Ontario and its rich deposits of cobalt, nickel, copper, platinum and chromite has been stalled for decades by endless, often duplicative studies. Rare earth minerals are locked in by similarly negative regulatory processes that take 15 years or more to gain approval. Invite Indigenous communities to take a stake as investment partners in natural resource extraction instead of spending tax money in courts squabbling endlessly and unproductively over jurisdiction.
3)
Liberate the oligopolistic domination of key economic sectors like banking, telecommunications and transport to bolster real competitiveness in Canada.
4)
Task the premiers to remove all internal trade barriers within six months or face reductions in federal grants. After more than 20 years of talk, it is time to deliver.
Urge the provinces as well to modify educational institutions and give more emphasis to talents we need in science and technology for the age of artificial intelligence. Ensure teaching of fact-based history that relates, in a balanced fashion, the extraordinary success of the Canadian experience recognizing that the heavy influx of new Canadians should know and respect what those who have preceded them have achieved.
5)
Restructure our health-care system, which may be universal but has sadly become universally deplorable on availability. The problem is structural, not monetary. Allow a portion of private care to complement the public system, enabling an element of competition to improve overall quality while preserving core elements of service. Encourage the provinces to accelerate accreditation of foreign-trained medical practitioners to rectify current shortages of doctors and nurses.
6)
Overhaul our immigration system and give top priority to merit. Provide incentives to attract medical talent and STEM graduates for the modern economy. Balance the overall numbers more judiciously against housing, health and education capabilities.
7)
As two former Ambassadors to the U.S., we recognize that the relationship will never be the same. Mutual trust and respect — the essence of co-operation — have been vaporized by Trump’s tariffs and his hostile threats to annex Canada. He relishes dominating the news cycle with impulsive, erratic tweets and is egged on by a chorus of compliant cabinet cheerleaders, but non-MAGA America is, we suspect, becoming exhausted by the pace, the confusion and the incessant combativeness of Trump’s style.
We can negotiate tactfully new terms on economic affairs and security even though any agreement may not be honoured by the current president, who has completely violated the terms of the CUSMA as well as the basic principles guiding the WTO and threatens the continued viability of NATO.
As a
by the Expert Group on Canada–US Relations observed, the U.S. has been transformed “from the guarantor of stability and the rule of law into a threat to be mitigated.” We should not rush into any negotiation until there is greater clarity and less confusion about the political climate in Washington. It would be prudent to first test the climate for diplomatic solutions if and as the political mood in America begins to sour on the president’s performance.
We should use the leverage of our substantial resources that America needs — uranium, oil, aluminum, potash, water, etc. — to our advantage and induce made-in-Canada products where feasible.
8)
Refocus our foreign policy more generally and align resources and activities more closely with real Canadian interests. There is no viable alternative to the dominant focus on the U.S., but we should intensify relations with the EU, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and all our TPP partners. Damaged relations with India and China should be repaired in a realistic, mutually beneficial manner.
9)
Double the size and expenditures for our military in three years. This could be partially paid for by a sharp reduction in the size of our bloated public service, notably the senior echelon. That would give us real capacity to serve our own security interests, notably in the Arctic. We can no longer be a “free rider” on our own defence — the ultimate example of chronic complacency.
10)
Reform our intelligence and police forces to better address domestic and global threats. According to a Parliamentary committee report in November 2023, the RCMP is stretched thinly across multiple tasks and
for modern crimes like money-laundering — related primarily to drug trafficking — terrorism and espionage. Ensure, too, that our courts are better equipped to adjudicate these challenges.
The newly elected government certainly has the capacity for bold policy initiatives. The question is: does it have the will, the leadership and the stamina to deliver?
Derek H. Burney and Raymond Chrétien were career diplomats for Canada, each of whom served as Ambassador to the U.S. from 1989-1993 and 1994-2000 respectively.
