A panel of construction and trade experts at the Canadian Construction Association’s annual conference called upon the federal government to adopt a strategy to prioritize investment in trade corridors, to boost Canada’s profile in global markets.
The importance of trade to Canada’s economy cannot be overstated, stressed panelist Todd Winterhalt, Vice-President, Export Development Canada. Winterhalt was one of three panelists discussing why trade-enabling infrastructure is essential to Canada’s economic growth at CCA’s annual conference in Tucson, Arizona, this week.
Sustained investment in Canada’s trade-enabling infrastructure is critical to continued economic growth because the domestic market cannot consumer the volume of goods we produce, he noted.
That underscores the importance of building good relationships, trade agreements and the transportation infrastructure to ensure the goods are delivered, Winterhalt explained.
Panel moderator Nicole Chabot, past Chair of MHCA and a CCA Board member, said Canada is the only jurisdiction among its trading peers that does not have a trade investment strategy to prioritize investments in transportation projects with the greatest return to the GDP.
JP Gauthier (Kiewit, Senior V-P) said that helps explain how Canada’s global reputation as a reliable trade partner has taken a drubbing over the last decade.
In 2028, the World Economic Forum’s survey of trade transportation reliability ranked Canada 10th among nations – following the rollout of some significant investments in trade corridors and gateways. However, with the completion of those national investment programs, our country’s rank fell to 32nd in the WEF 2019 survey, just ahead of Azerbaijan.
“Is this our reputation?” Gauthier posed, rhetorically.
The quality of trade infrastructure is directly related to the confidence of those in the business of moving goods and services that they’ll get delivered on time, he said.
Winterhalt said that EDC has determined Canada’s volume of exports has now fallen, from 8th in 2002 among its OECD peers, to last. Part of that is because of increased competition, but also because our country can’t get the goods to market fast enough.
Chabot said that a sustained, strategic program for national investment in trade transportation infrastructure needs to be a legacy priority – not attached to the four-year political lifecycle that often determines public policy priorities.
And that demands visionary political leadership, added Gauthier.
CCA, along with Western Canada Roadbuilders and Heavy Construction Association, Business Council of Canada, Canadian Chamber of Commerce and the Canada West Foundation, have proposed the National Plan for Trade Corridors Infrastructure, which calls upon the federal government to adopt a trade infrastructure strategy and significantly increase investment in corridors and gateways.
Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson, now Chair of the Premiers’ Council of the Federation, has committed to taking the proposal for support at the July, 2023, meeting of the council, Gauthier noted.
Winterhalt said such a plan would press governments across Canada to look beyond the typical jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction view of where investment should happen, and look to building seamless, efficient trade arteries across the nation.
He said Canada can look to Australia to see the success of such an approach.
The panelists agreed that the collaborative efforts of the CCA, BCC, CCC, CWF and WCR&HCA are picking up support provincially and municipally and that kind of pressure can be brought to bear upon the federal government.