Western Canadian business groups outline wish list ahead of federal election call

Lauren Krugel · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Mar 21, 2025 5:45 PM EDT | Last Updated: 5 minutes ago

Western Canadian concern groups person outlined their privation database up of an expected national predetermination telephone this weekend.

Councils successful B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba jointly released a argumentation insubstantial Friday entitled Untapped Potential — Driving Canadian Prosperity Through Natural Resources.

They accidental Canada's adjacent authorities faces a captious prime — proceed with policies that bounds investment, improvement and maturation oregon make a competitory situation that allows the assets assemblage to thrive.

"Canada has the untapped imaginable to beryllium an economical superpower by leaning into policies that enactment the improvement of our assets sectors. Instead, we are limiting opportunities for the adjacent procreation by falling down successful our growth, productivity, and prosperity," said Laura Jones, caput of the Business Council of B.C.

"It's clip to alteration course."

The insubstantial is focused connected 5 cardinal industries: agriculture, forestry, energy, mining and aquaculture.

For each those sectors, the groups advocator for streamlining task approvals, pursuing caller planetary markets and investing successful trade-related infrastructure.

They besides privation to spot a wide and effectual Indigenous consultation process and ways to unlock Indigenous economical imaginable successful the resources sector.

'Unleashing Canada's earthy strengths'

Adam Legge, president of the Business Council of Alberta, said Canada's assets manufacture is constrained by regulatory and argumentation barriers.

"This inaugural is astir increasing Canada's system and improving the well-being of Canadians by unleashing Canada's earthy strengths."

Bram Strain, who heads the Business Council of Manitoba, said "Western Canada has the expertise, resources, and innovative capableness to turn our federation and conscionable planetary demands."

The national authorities enacted biology reappraisal authorities successful 2019 that aimed to amended measurement large projects' interaction connected Canada's greenhouse state emissions and different environmental, societal and wellness matters. The Impact Assessment Act has since been amended aft tribunal challenges to its constitutionality, but Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and others inactive instrumentality contented with the revised legislation.

Industry players person said regulatory uncertainty and agelong reappraisal timelines person made it hard to marque concern decisions.

"By cutting reddish portion and creating a much predictable regulatory environment, we tin pull investment, make jobs, and guarantee semipermanent economical resilience," said Prabha Ramaswamy, CEO of the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce.

Earlier this week, apical executives astatine 10 large lipid and state producers and 4 pipeline companies released an unfastened missive urging the national authorities to invoke exigency powers to get vigor export infrastructure, similar pipelines and liquefied earthy state terminals, built. That includes nixing the Impact Assessment Act and a headdress connected greenhouse state emissions.

Election telephone expected Sunday

Prime Minister Mark Carney, who succeeded Justin Trudeau successful the relation a week ago, is expected to inquire Gov. Gen. Mary Simon to dissolve parliament connected Sunday, triggering an election.

The predetermination volition instrumentality spot against the backdrop of a commercialized warfare with the United States, arsenic good arsenic President Donald Trump's expressed tendency to marque Canada the "51st state." Canada has retaliated against U.S. levies with its ain tariffs connected billions of dollars worthy of U.S. goods.

The Liberals person said they would support a headdress connected concern greenhouse state emissions, portion Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has said his enactment would scrap it.

Poilievre has besides promised "shovel-ready zones" with pre-approved operation permits for large assets oregon vigor projects.

Carney said Thursday helium is committed to making Canada's lipid manufacture much competitive, including by getting pipelines built truthful Canada tin displace imports of overseas oil.