{"id":281317,"date":"2025-11-13T22:55:10","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T22:55:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/281317\/"},"modified":"2025-11-13T22:55:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T22:55:10","slug":"carneys-major-projects-patchwork-leaves-holes-in-our-economic-growth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/281317\/","title":{"rendered":"Carney\u2019s major projects patchwork leaves holes in our economic growth"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Prime Minister Mark Carney greets attendees after announcing five major projects being considered for fast-track approval, in Edmonton on Sept. 11.AMBER BRACKEN\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

Candace Laing is the president and chief executive of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.<\/p>\n

We have turned Canada\u2019s major-project announcements into what feels like a raffle, with everyone from investors to businesses to economists checking to see whose number comes up. According to the federal government, there are hundreds upon hundreds of major projects in the federal inventory, 32 considered for Major Projects Office attention, and only 11 hand-picked so far.<\/p>\n

On Thursday Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a handful more of the winners, but our eyes immediately turned to those who once again missed out this round. \u201cIf you\u2019re lucky, the government will pick you\u201d cannot be the long-term message we send to project proponents and investors.<\/p>\n

To get things built in Canada, we need \u201cone project, one review\u201d to be more than a slogan. It must be a binding and uniting principle. It\u2019s simply fairness. While the new major projects legislation is a workaround for the time being, we ultimately need one consistent process. <\/p>\n

And it can\u2019t be a fast lane for a few marquee projects alongside an endless lineup for everyone else. A patchwork system of approvals will leave holes in our already lagging economic growth \u2013 our new Canadian Chamber of Commerce GDP nowcast tool is showing a measly 1.5-per-cent growth for the third quarter.<\/p>\n

Decoding the Major Projects Office, the centrepiece of Carney\u2019s nation-building plans<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s an economic imperative to jump-start projects of all sizes right now, given the slow and low growth that\u2019s signalling fragility. Our Business Data Lab\u2019s third quarter of 2025 survey shows that after five consecutive quarters of decline, overall business confidence is merely holding flat. Firms remain cautious, weighed down by trade uncertainty, tariff pressures and policy ambiguity. Many are hesitant to commit to costly capital investments in the current business climate.<\/p>\n

Despite significant policy movement recently, capital is quietly flowing elsewhere. In the second quarter of 2025 alone, Statistics Canada says, the country experienced a net outflow of $43.7-billion from portfolio investments. That\u2019s foreign and domestic investors alike choosing other jurisdictions. <\/p>\n

This quiet exodus is a warning: When the rules are opaque or uneven, investors don\u2019t wait around. They move elsewhere. At a time when the U.S. is weaponizing tax and regulatory tools and investors are carefully comparing competitiveness, Canada cannot afford to fall behind. <\/p>\n

Our self-imposed productivity problem is seeing us drop in the international rankings. As of 2023, the OECD ranked us the second-lowest in GDP per hour worked among the G7. The United States is at the top, producing $24 in GDP more per hour per person than us. If these disadvantages continue, setting up and maintaining a business in Canada will start from a comparatively weak position, making it more and more attractive for global companies to look elsewhere.<\/p>\n

The Major Projects Office rests on a simple premise: Too many projects were not completed or even started when we need them. But as the Association of Consulting Engineering Companies rightly says: \u201cAll projects are major projects.\u201d The risk of a two-tier system that leaves smaller, regional or non-\u201cnational interest\u201d projects to languish is real. If only a fraction of our country\u2019s projects ever proceed, then investors will know it\u2019s a feature, not a bug.<\/p>\n

Opinion: We must make Canada worth investing in<\/a><\/p>\n

We need bold action that creates a consistent environment in which all eligible projects have a clear, fair path \u2013 one that attracts and retains capital while respecting Indigenous rights, environmental assessments and community consultation.<\/p>\n

We also need a regulatory and tax environment that encourages growth and launches new ventures. While tariffs dominate headlines today, structural changes in U.S. tax and regulatory regimes \u2013 the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and its ripple effects \u2013 will challenge Canada\u2019s long-term competitiveness if we don\u2019t act. The government\u2019s Red Tape Review, which highlighted 500 achievements and forward-looking actions, is encouraging, but it is only a starting point. Incremental fixes will not be enough.<\/p>\n

To truly build investor confidence and transform our economy, the next step must be a systemic review of the project approval framework. One predictable process, applied consistently, is what will signal that Canada is a place where business can thrive and capital will choose to stay.<\/p>\n

If we fail to fix the patchwork, the raffle mentality will persist. Businesses are left to gamble on their odds. Investors and entrepreneurs need more than chance. They need a system they can trust. That\u2019s the principle we must live by: one project, one review, one process. Get that right and Canada\u2019s economic future will be far more secure than any lottery ticket could ever promise.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Prime Minister Mark Carney greets attendees after announcing five major projects being considered…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":281318,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[901,888,902,879,877,903,45,49,48,876,895,896,891,878,875,46,549,295,894,887,914,880,881,893,889,890,884,904,885,909,910,912,907,911,905,908,882,898,899,714,897,906,865,61,900,892,886,883,913],"class_list":["post-281317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-alberta","tag-arts-news","tag-bc","tag-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news-video","tag-british-columbia","tag-business","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canada-news","tag-canada-sports","tag-canada-sports-news","tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","tag-canadian-breaking-news","tag-canadian-news","tag-economy","tag-education","tag-environment","tag-federal-government","tag-foreign-news","tag-globe-and-mail","tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","tag-government","tag-life-news","tag-lifestyle","tag-local-news","tag-manitoba","tag-national-news","tag-new-brunswick","tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","tag-northwest-territories","tag-nova-scotia","tag-nunavut","tag-ontario","tag-pei","tag-photos","tag-political-news","tag-political-opinion","tag-politics","tag-politics-news","tag-quebec","tag-sports-news","tag-technology","tag-travel","tag-trudeau","tag-us-news","tag-world-news","tag-yukon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281317","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=281317"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281317\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/281318"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=281317"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=281317"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=281317"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}