Opinion: Canada Is Underselling Itself

Canada is one of the most resource-rich nations on Earth. We hold the third-largest proven oil reserves in the world—behind only Venezuela and Saudi Arabia—almost all of it located in Alberta's oil sands. We possess over 9% of the world’s freshwater supply, host the third-largest global reserves of uranium, and are a top producer of potash, timber, and key agricultural commodities like wheat and canola. Canada is also a major source of critical minerals such as nickel, lithium, and cobalt—essential for the green energy transition. On top of that, we are one of the most politically stable, educated, and sparsely populated countries in the world. By all logic, we should be among the most prosperous societies globally. And yet, we are not.

Despite our natural advantages, Canada's GDP per capita growth has been sluggish. Between 2015 and 2023, our real GDP per capita increased by just 2.3%, compared to 9.4% in the United States over the same period. Canada ranks outside the top 20 in GDP per capita globally and continues to fall behind peer nations in productivity and income growth. Even countries with limited natural resources or geopolitical challenges—such as Estonia, Chile, and Vietnam—have outpaced us in economic dynamism and innovation adoption. In a world where our resources and governance should command premium global influence and returns, our underperformance speaks volumes.

Why? The answer might lie in a combination of factors: the weight of an increasingly expansive government, a web of outdated policies, and unnecessary barriers that continue to stifle both domestic and international trade. These systemic inefficiencies have created a drag on productivity and innovation, preventing us from realizing the full potential of our natural and human capital.

For decades, we've been told that Canada's future lies in tech, finance, and service industries. While diversification is essential, it has come at the cost of neglecting what we already have: a wealth of commodities the world is desperate for. If Canada embraced what it is at its core—a commodity and resource powerhouse—and sought to maximize our GDP through responsible development and trade, we could live in excess like countries with similar resource profiles, such as Norway or even the United Arab Emirates.

One of the most glaring inefficiencies lies within our borders. Interprovincial trade in Canada is riddled with barriers that make it harder for a business in British Columbia to sell to Quebec than to California. These regulatory inconsistencies affect everything from trucking rules and product standards to alcohol distribution. According to the Senate and numerous economists, eliminating these internal trade barriers could increase Canada's GDP by up to 8%, or over $200 billion annually. That is low-hanging fruit we're leaving to rot.

Then there's our trade infrastructure. Our transportation systems are overwhelmingly designed for north-south trade with the United States. East-west connectivity is poor by comparison, limiting national cohesion and economic opportunity. Investment in trade-enabling infrastructure—ports, rail, pipelines—is not just good economics, it's essential to nation-building. And yet, we continue to deploy billions of taxpayer dollars inefficiently—whether through foreign aid with minimal return on investment, or domestic programs and subsidies that fail to yield measurable outcomes.

For instance, in 2022, Canada spent over $8.4 billion on foreign aid, including significant contributions to countries such as Afghanistan, Ethiopia, and Haiti—regions that, while in need, offer limited strategic or economic return to Canadian taxpayers. At the same time, more than $4 billion annually is allocated to federal programs whose performance is difficult to assess or justify, according to the Parliamentary Budget Officer. Examples include the Canada Digital Adoption Program, which allocated $4 billion to help small businesses upgrade technology, yet has faced criticism for inefficiencies and unclear outcomes, and the over $1.5 billion spent annually on various regional economic development agencies that often lack rigorous accountability metrics. Redirecting just a portion of this capital into robust east-west infrastructure—expanding interprovincial rail corridors, modernizing ports, and improving cross-provincial energy and data transmission—would yield compounding returns in productivity, national unity, and sovereignty.

And what of our global potential? Canada is a trusted democracy with an enviable reputation for stability and ethics. In a world increasingly skeptical of authoritarian regimes controlling resource flows, we are exactly the kind of partner the world wants. Yet, we bog down development with years of red tape, endless reviews, and risk-averse governance. We have allowed loud, often minority opposition to paralyze progress. Meanwhile, our credit rating—currently AAA—is increasingly at risk as our debt grows and our economic performance lags behind our capabilities. If we continue to delay responsible development and fiscal discipline, we could see erosion in both investor confidence and our global economic standing.

This doesn't mean abandoning sustainability. In fact, we should be leaders in it, not by shutting down traditional industries, but by investing in them to evolve. Our energy producers have the most to lose in a global shift away from oil and gas. Why not incentivize them to be the leaders in cleaner extraction, carbon capture, and alternative fuels? Strategic grants for R&D, tax credits for emission reducing innovations, and streamlined permitting for sustainable projects can make Canada a hub of clean resource development.

We're living far below our potential. We have the tools to be an energy superpower, a food exporter to the world, and a sanctuary for investment. But instead of using our advantages, we've allowed layers of bureaucracy, interprovincial dysfunction, and ideological rigidity to hold us back. While I acknowledge that the ideas presented here are, of course, an oversimplification of a complex national challenge, perhaps the solutions are simpler than we think—and closer at hand than we dare to believe.

It’s time to be bold. It's time to remember who we are, what we have, and what we could become. Canada doesn’t need to reinvent itself—it needs to unleash itself.