Trudeau hangover holds investors back, ‘bold action’ needed to transform economy
‘To truly build investor confidence and transform our economy, the next step must be a systemic review of the project approval framework,’ says Canadian Chamber of Commerce president and CeO Candace Laing. / CCC PHOTO
Wary after 10 years of the business-unfriendly Trudeau Liberals, Canadian investors are unsure whether to believe that the Carney Liberals’ pro-business rhetoric is for real. Canadian investors and entrepreneurs need a business environment they can trust, says Canadian Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Candace Laing.
“Every project, large or small, needs a consistent and dependable system and then a resilient business environment in which to operate. That’s the only way we’ll reliably attract private capital and investment and get projects built in Canada today and tomorrow,” Laing said in response to Prime Minister Mark Carney announcing the second tranche of projects referred to the Major Projects Office.
“To get things built in Canada, we need ‘one project, one review’ to be more than a slogan. It must be a binding and uniting principle. It’s simply fairness,” she later wrote in an op-ed in The Globe and Mail.
The projects referred to the MPO include:
North Coast Transmission Line (NCTL) in Northwestern British Columbia that will power new mines and export expansion.
Ksi Lisims LNG on Pearse Island, B.C., aims to become Canada’s second-largest LNG facility.
Canada Nickel’s Crawford Project in Timmins, Ont., that will produce nickel for batteries and green steel.
Nouveau Monde Graphite’s Matawinie Mine in Saint-Michel-des-Saints, Que., is an open-pit graphite mine that aims to provide inputs for battery supply chains and defence applications.
Northcliff Resources’ Sisson Mine in Sisson Brook, N.B., will produce tungsten used in steel production, as well as the defence and industrial sectors.
Iqaluit Nukkiksautiit Hydro Project in Iqaluit, Nunavut. seeks to become Nunavut’s first 100 per cent Inuit-owned hydro energy project, delivering cleaner energy to the city of Iqaluit.
Carney also referred the Northwest Critical Conservation Corridor in Northwest British Columbia and the Yukon to the MPO. The corridor sits atop a vast deposit of critical minerals and prioritizing it, Carney said, will help strengthen Canada’s position as a global leader in clean energy and critical minerals while also getting new transmission lines, upgraded highways and new fibre and cell towers built.
“Each of these projects that we are referring to the MPO today, in and of itself, is transformational, but the bigger point is that their impacts will be amplified by being part of bigger national strategies to boost Canada’s competitiveness,” the Prime Minister said Thursday.
Trump-proofing Canada
It was a reference to the multiple pro-growth industrial strategies and tax breaks for infrastructure investment that provided the major thrust of last week’s business-friendly federal budget.
It was the second group of proposals the Liberal government has sent to the MPO as possible projects of national interest as Carney tries to prompt a wave of public and private sector investment to build up key sectors. The motivation stems from the need to Trump-proof Canada.
Energy and Natural Resources minister Tim Hodgson said the government is building a more “self-reliant” country. “By unlocking our vast natural resources, powering new industries at home and abroad with low-carbon Canadian energy, and getting major projects built faster, we are ensuring that Canadian workers and communities not only compete, but win,” he said in a press release.
Laing said, however, that “it’s an economic imperative to jump-start projects of all sizes right now, given the slow and low growth that’s signalling fragility.” According to the Chamber’s Business Data Lab, business confidence is flat because of the economic decline over the last five quarters.
“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. 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’s foreign and domestic investors alike choosing other jurisdictions,” she wrote. “This quiet exodus is a warning: When the rules are opaque or uneven, investors don’t 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.”
Daniels calls for more ‘runway’
‘Indigenous Nations are already significant drivers of the Canadian economy, and they want to participate in more of these major projects, but they need to be consulted in a meaningful way,’ says First Nations Finance Authority President and CEO Ernie Daniels. / FNFA PHOTO
Parliament passed Bill C-5, the One Canadian Economy Act, this summer. It aims to shorten the review process for major projects to two years from conception to production. First Nations Finance Authority President and CEO Ernie Daniels told Means & Ways that Indigenous consultation on these projects can’t be an afterthought. “Indigenous Nations are already significant drivers of the Canadian economy, and they want to participate in more of these major projects, but they need to be consulted in a meaningful way,” he said.
Speaking from years of experience leading an organization that has transformed how First Nations access capital, Daniels emphasized that “a bit of runway” for consultation needs to be incorporated into the timelines for any major project impacting Indigenous communities. Speaking about how to deepen engagement and advance economic reconciliation, Daniels emphasized that while “First Nations do want to participate in these projects,” governments and industry must “start talking with First Nations right away to create this longer runway.”
“If I look at the Cedar LNG project, that was probably in excess of maybe eight to 10 years in discussion. That these project timelines are going to be much less from the government's perspective, it's important that government and industry start talking with First Nations right away to create this longer runway and to really … offer equity ownership into these projects,” he said.
In a report, Building Together: How Indigenous economic reconciliation can fuel Canada’s resurgence, RBC Director, Policy and Strategic Engagement Varun Srivatsan also said this is an important aspect of getting projects built.
“Expediting permitting timelines, although an important objective to speed up project development, cannot be done in a vacuum without the Crown discharging its duty to consult. Proponents have an important responsibility and role to play in building deep trust-based relationships with Indigenous Nations, and through that process, seek and achieve consent,” Srivatsan wrote.
Will businesses open wallets?
“Virtually all of the projects that will be fast-tracked will impact Indigenous interests and run through Indigenous territories. Fulsome Indigenous engagement and partnerships will determine the federal government’s ability to move at speed and scale.”
Meanwhile, CIBC Managing Director and Chief Economist of CIBC Capital Markets Avery Shenfield said last week the government ‘s budget provides tax incentives and accelerated appreciation to help businesses. In response to the federal government’s 2025 budget, Shenfield said the government is investing in projects, but it’s up to businesses to also step up. “The government has emphasized this, like in terms of, for example, a pipeline, you need someone to want to build a pipeline,” he said. “It really is going to depend on how much confidence the private sector has in Canada’s future in these projects. And their willingness to then open their wallet to join the government’s wallet. Because, at the end of the day, the government is somewhat limited in how many dollars they can put into the economy without taking the deficit to levels that the market might be concerned about. And they’re really relying on this sort of multiplier effect. So, that’s why, to some extent, we’re going to have to see how these businesses respond.”
Shenfield said the budget was not aimed at Canadians, but rather “getting businesses to spend more of their money. And we’ll have to see how that actually plays out in the years ahead.”
Laing said, however, that “bold action” is needed to create “a consistent environment in which all eligible projects have a clear, fair path — one that attracts and retains capital while respecting Indigenous rights, environmental assessments and community consultation.”
She added: “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 — the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and its ripple effects — will challenge Canada’s long-term competitiveness if we don’t act. … 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.”
