Catherine Fortin LeFaivre is the Senior Vice President, International Policy & Global Partnerships at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. She recently led the Chamber’s B7 parallel event at the final G7 ministerial meeting in Montreal and has a strong pulse on the Canada-U.S. trade relationship.

She recently told Means & Ways “uncertainty is the new normal” but business priorities haven’t changed, and judging by what she hears from the business communities in the U.S. and Mexico, there is alignment on the need to make CUSMA even stronger. “There is more that we can do to make North America even more competitive. So leaning into the things that might not have been covered in the last agreement, for instance, the digital chapter of CUSMA is pretty short, and so much has changed in that sector. There’s a lot more we can do in terms of cybersecurity alignment, in terms of AI policy, and interoperability. There isn't a chapter on critical minerals.”

We asked her for her take of what’s to come in 2026.

M&W: How would you describe 2025 in one word? Why?

CFL: Manic. Because saying it’s been a “crazy” year seems unoriginal at this point.

M&W: What is the one thing Canadians should be looking for in 2026?

CFL: Progress that we can meaningfully measure and that will actually lead to delivering true results for Canadians; whether we’re talking about enabling SMEs to increase trade with alternative markets, building more affordable housing or actually digitally transforming our government services.

M&W: Which underrated public policy should governments address to grow the economy in 2026? Why?

CFL: Encouraging young Canadians to pursue careers in the skilled trades. We’ve been talking about it for decades, but the stigma persists and our education systems still aren’t equipped to encourage and produce the number of workers that we’ll need to accomplish our list of ambitious major projects.

M&W: What is the best economic or public policy book of the year?

CFL: Maria Ressa’s How to Stand Up to a Dictator. While it wasn’t published in 2025, I did come to finally read it this year and it’s perhaps even more relevant than it was when it came out in 2022.

M&W: What is keeping you up at night?

CFL: Domestic squabbling while our country faces a variety of near-existential threats.