Economic Outlook: Safeguarding a Vital Relationship and Investing in a More Productive Economy
The Canadian economy is confronting high global uncertainty and risk. A new U.S. administration will reshape economic policy and international relations in a period already characterized by a fragmentation of global trade and supply chains. President-elect Trump’s threat to impose a 25% across-the-board tariff on all goods from Canada and Mexico upon taking office is a first dramatic manifestation of what may be a disruptive period for international economic diplomacy.
Canada is entering this new period with a solid capacity to contribute to a more secure and more competitive North American economy, but also with domestic vulnerabilities, including a trend of low productivity growth.
An immediate imperative is to work with the incoming Trump administration to safeguard the vital Canada–United States relationship. The medium-to long-term game is to invest in a more productive economy. Our national interest dictates advancing both priorities together.
Bennett Jones