Canada needs to rebuild investor confidence

As published in The Calgary Herald

The holiday season offers Canadians the chance to reflect and give thanks with friends and families for the many gifts and blessings we enjoy in this country — and this year should be no different.

We are safe from armed conflict ravaging lives and communities in Ukraine, the Middle East, North Africa and many places that never make it to our screens. By global comparison, we have a free press and freedom to speak, practice religion and elect our government representatives without coercion.

But these global comparisons should not be taken for granted, nor should Canadians ignore this country’s reality of challenges with investor confidence and Canadian productivity.

Much has been written about Canada’s performance among its peers in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) relating to gross domestic product per capita. This is an important indicator of how much wealth is generated per person in the country and, in turn, implications for their purchasing power and prosperity. When we add the effects of a weakening dollar, potential tariff wars and supply chain disruptions, Canadians’ ability to enjoy a healthy and happy life is at threat of even greater decline. This is not being lost on Canadians, as evidenced by a recent Angus Reid Poll that concluded pride in Canada is at an all-time low.

Canada needs to rebuild investor confidence in the country as a safe place to invest to generate returns, and create jobs for Canadians and revenues for governments. Those revenues can pay for health care and social services, which have differentiated Canada as a country but are also in need of urgent reform.

I have worked in the energy sector for almost three decades in the U.S., Europe and Canada. Canada sits on a foundation of natural resources and critical minerals that not only provide Canadians with among the most reliable and affordable energy on the planet, but also offer Canadians the opportunity to provide resources for a growing and aspiring world. Canadian regulations on greenhouse gases are among the most stringent and transparent in the world. This means energy produced in Canada has the potential for a lower carbon footprint than energy produced in other countries without these regulations.

Natural gas — a source of energy that can be liquefied and shipped around the world to countries that need it most — will play an important role in the decades ahead. The forthcoming AI revolution will require unprecedented power, and natural gas will be critical to electricity production that produces lower emissions. Reliable energy that is responsibly produced should never be taken for granted, and Canada is well positioned to answer the call.

At this time, more than ever, Canada should be doing all that it can to attract investors while diversifying its customer base. For Canada to seize this opportunity we have to overcome some challenges.

Canada has a complex regulatory system with multiple provincial and federal regulations that are difficult to understand, time-consuming to navigate and inefficient. Major infrastructure projects, including projects that seek to remove or reduce greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon capture and sequestration, take years to plan before any investments are considered. Therefore, regulations that are abruptly imposed, changed or rescinded also create uncertainty and risk.

It’s time for that to change and time for Canada to become the investment case for the global economy.

If we want to stem the decline and rebuild the case for Canadian prosperity, the time to act is now.