Business leaders say they have a blueprint for economic success. They want federal candidates to listen

Janani Whitfield · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 11, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

With the yo-yoing menace of U.S. tariffs dominating concern headlines, a concern league successful Saskatchewan — the landlocked state historically known arsenic the breadbasket of the satellite and besides boasting oil, uranium and potash resources — featured a beardown undercurrent of dissatisfaction with hurdles to getting products to market.

"Saskatchewan has what the satellite needs," was a commonly expressed sentiment astatine the Global Food, Fuel and Farm Summit held successful Regina this past week, an lawsuit hosted by the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce. CBC attended arsenic portion of its nationalist effort to inquire Canadians what matters astir to them successful the national election.

"I deliberation we person a tremendous accidental for america arsenic Canadians," said Prabha Ramaswamy, CEO for the chamber, pointing to a emergence of patriotism successful caller weeks.

"I deliberation it's been a defining infinitesimal for us, wherever arsenic Canadians we're asking ourselves what our values are, and I deliberation we person to physique connected the momentum, travel unneurotic arsenic Canadians and look astatine however we tin fortify our home economy."

• What contented matters the astir to you this national election, and why? Share your idiosyncratic stories with america astatine [email protected].

Prairie innovation was highlighted astatine the conference, with attendees pointing to Saskatchewan-based enactment similar incorporating artificial quality into engineering projects oregon turning biomass-derived c into lithium batteries.

However, those astatine the league said they spot the aforesaid barriers to doing concern continually harvest up, making them apical of caput arsenic industries see what matters astir successful the adjacent national election.

Karen Churchill is the president and CEO of Ag-West Bio, a not-for-profit that invests successful ag start-ups, and said she is astir acrophobic with regulatory barriers specified arsenic requirements for projects to person greenhouse state assessments and mitigation, costs borne by industry. The different large value connected her caput was whether Canada is acceptable to marque large investments successful infrastructure.

"We request to get our products to market. We request to really put successful each the institutions, whether they beryllium probe institutions oregon basal roads, railways … [and] pipelines."

She's acrophobic there's a disagreement betwixt occidental provinces and decision-makers successful Ottawa.

"Here successful the west, I deliberation we conscionable don't consciousness heard successful the east," she said. "When you speech astir pipelines, that's a immense disconnect besides with the barriers to innovation wherever you spot policies developed successful the eastbound not being precise affable to the west."

Ramaswamy said the Canadian Chamber of Commerce has issued 4 calls of enactment to fortify Canada's economy, including 1 about the agelong discussed but yet-to-be-realized east-west vigor corridor.

The 3 different calls are to teardrop down interior commercialized barriers, boost home procurement and renegotiate escaped commercialized agreements with the U.S. and Mexico.

• Conservatives committedness 'one-and-done' task approvals to chopped hold times
• Carney pledges faster task reviews to marque Canada 'energy superpower'

Politicians person agelong talked astir west-to-east proscription and infrastructure, said Grant McLellan, a elder strategy advisor with Prairie Sky Strategy, but there's a spread betwixt immoderate of that speech and tangible action.

"The biggest unit that we ever perceive is we request larboard expansion, we request obstruction enactment maturation and operation of caller obstruction lines. We request pipeline enlargement to marque definite that we person entree crossed the state to resources that are developed close present successful Canada," helium said, adding that determination tin beryllium absorption successful provinces similar Quebec that stall projects similar pipelines.

Like Churchill, McLellan wants to spot a streamlining of regulatory approvals to guarantee concern and manufacture projects tin determination forward.

"We truly request a national authorities that is prepared to marque pugnacious decisions that aren't needfully going to beryllium political, politically appeasing to definite parts of the country, but are bully for federation gathering and are bully for Canada's aboriginal and bully for Canada removing itself from the reliance connected markets similar the United States."

While determination mightiness beryllium a cognition that lipid and state oregon different vigor partners are opposed to biology regulation, Ran Narayanasamy, president and CEO of the Petroleum Technology Research Centre, said that's not the case.

"Nobody's saying, 'Hey, I'm going to nutrient a product. We don't attraction astir the environment,'" helium said.

The occupation is that national biology regulations are formed without consultation with manufacture partners, Narayanasamy said.

"We don't privation the policies to curtail the improvement of the vigor manufacture successful Western Canada, particularly successful Saskatchewan."

Narayanasamy said he wants to perceive national leaders express pridefulness successful what Canada has to offer, whether that's oil, potash oregon canola.

"I privation policies to enactment the manufacture due to the fact that that's wherever we're gonna make jobs and support the system increasing due to the fact that Canada produces the products everyone needs successful the world."