Unews World
On the night of his election victory, Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney outlined his vision to boost the country’s economy in response to President Donald Trump’s challenges.
“Build, baby, build!” Carney told a cheering crowd of Liberal Party supporters in April.
In the first weeks of his term, Carney’s plans have started to take shape, highlighted by the launch of the new “Major Projects Office” last month.
The office will oversee construction initiatives including ports, highways, mines, and potentially a new oil pipeline a move that has drawn scrutiny from environmental groups.
The office, which will soon announce its top priorities, was established after Carney’s Liberals gained cross-party backing for legislation allowing the government to fast-track “nation-building projects.”
“We are moving at a pace not seen in generations,” Carney said, stressing the urgency needed as Trump reshapes the global economy.
While Trump’s threats to annex Canada have eased, his ongoing trade war continues to impact the Canadian economy. U.S. tariffs on autos, steel, and aluminum have hit these key sectors, causing job losses.
Canada’s unemployment rate reached 7.1 percent in August, the highest level since 2016 outside the pandemic.
“That adds to evidence that the trade war is taking its toll on Canadian labor markets,” said RBC senior economist Claire Fan.
Economy in focus
Since entering politics earlier this year, Carney has emphasized that Canada must reduce its decades-long reliance on U.S. trade by boosting domestic commerce and exploring new markets in Europe and Asia.
During a visit to Germany last month, Carney highlighted that his government is “unleashing half a trillion dollars of investment” in infrastructure projects spanning energy, ports, and other critical sectors.
Jay Khosla, an energy expert at the Public Policy Forum, said the momentum to build would not have been possible without Trump.
“We know our economy is in peril,” he said, noting Canada was effectively “captured economically,” because of its closeness to the United States.
Energy superpower?
Canada is the world’s fourth largest oil exporter and its crude reserves are the world’s third largest.
Most of its resources are in the western province of Alberta, which exports almost exclusively to the United States, as Canada lacks the infrastructure to efficiently get energy products to other foreign markets.
Former prime minister Justin Trudeau, Carney’s predecessor, put climate change at the center of his political brand and faced criticism from some over his perceived lack of support for the energy sector.
In a shift from the Trudeau era, Carney’s Liberals now support exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe.
“What we heard loud and clear from German LNG buyers and LNG users is they believe there is demand and they want to buy our products” Energy Minister Tim Hodgson said in Berlin last week.
Carney has repeatedly said Canada “can be an energy superpower.”
But not everyone is enthusiastic about that plan.
Greenpeace has accused the prime minister of backing “climate-wrecking infrastructure” while ignoring clean energy.
Carney could likely press ahead despite concerns from pro-climate NGOs, but support from Indigenous leaders for whom safeguarding the environment is top priority — is seen as essential.
Despite Carney’s efforts to secure Indigenous backing for his major projects push, their concern persists.
“We know how it feels to have Trump at our border. Let’s not do that and have Trump-like policies,” said Cindy Woodhouse, the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, in a swipe at Carney’s backing for energy infrastructure.
“Let’s take the time and do things properly.”
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