Close X
Monday, November 11, 2024
ADVT 
National

Report charts path for Canada to show importance to United States

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 17 Sep, 2024 01:00 PM
  • Report charts path for Canada to show importance to United States

While Canada cannot escape the gravitational pull of an increasingly unstable United States, a new report is charting a path forward to ensure Canadian interests become more important to our closest neighbour.

"The world does need more of Canada. The United States does. Our other allies do," said the report by Public Policy Forum, a non-profit group that brings together experts to advise on significant policy issues.

"But it is up to us to make it happen."

The report, which will be released publicly Wednesday, suggests Canada should deepen co-operation with America in key sectors now.

Canadian officials and business groups have been pounding the pavement across the U.S. to connect with Democrats and Republicans about bilateral interests, making sure Canada is prepared for any outcome of the November election.

Top of mind for Canadians shaking hands with their American counterparts is the looming review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement in 2026. Both presidential candidates are selling protectionist policies that could cause uncertainty for Canadian trade.

While the U.S. is Canada's largest trade partner, the report notes that Canada is a "dwindling economy" in comparison and states like California, Texas and New York have economies the same size or bigger.

Others have warned the relationship between the two countries shifted from being strategic to transactional as Canada became less critical compared with other places in the world. 

"We can't coast," said Edward Greenspon, one of the report's co-authors. "Our allies need us and we have to fight for relevance in a world that is much more pressurized."

The Public Policy Forum and the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto partnered last year to explore how Canada could manage the risks.

The report found the situation is not dire. If Ottawa can align its national interests with those of its close partners, especially the U.S., there are opportunities that play to Canada's strengths.

"We need to put ourselves on the agenda early, regardless of who wins the presidency and who controls Congress," the report noted.

It suggested instead of putting "all our eggs" in the basket of the trilateral trade agreement, Canada should focus on four high-impact sectors: Arctic security, critical minerals, energy and the environment and technologies, like artificial intelligence and quantum computing.

The report suggests those sectors should be "continentalized," requiring production and investment across both sides of the international border. Greenspon said it will get "sticks in the ground now" in areas that really matter domestically and abroad.

Arctic security is of increasing importance for Americans pushing back on Russian and Chinese activities in the North. 

The report said increasing Arctic investment would demonstrate to Washington that Canada isn't shirking responsibilities and would bring the country closer to its NATO target of spending two per cent of gross domestic product on defence.

After days of public pressure from U.S. politicians at this year's NATO leaders' summit in Washington, D.C., Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada expects to hit that target for the first time in 2032.

The Public Policy report also points to Canada's vast resources of critical minerals, which are needed for the green and digital economies. The U.S. is an eager market and other allies are looking to get away from China as their source for the materials.

"Where 20th-century geopolitics featured battles over access to crude oil, the 21st century might well be defined by a struggle over critical minerals," the report noted. 

Canada could also matter more for America's electricity grid and environmental goals, whether through small modular nuclear reactors, uranium, natural gas or with experiences around carbon capture. 

The U.S. will need to expand electricity transmission by roughly 60 per cent by 2030 and may need to triple it by 2050, according to research from Princeton University.

The report said Canada and the U.S. should work together to set standards for next-generation technology and create agreements to encourage companies build supply chains and procurement together across the border. 

The first thing Ottawa has to do is be clear with Canadians that the situation globally poses challenges but also brings opportunity, Greenspon said.

"There's always bumps in the road but we need to lay down as much pavement as we can and we have a lot of material with which to do that," he said. "We have a lot going for us."

MORE National ARTICLES

B.C. municipalities get $1.6 billion in federal infrastructure funds over five years

B.C. municipalities get $1.6 billion in federal infrastructure funds over five years
Under the new Canada Community-Building Fund deal, local governments in B.C. will receive $300 million in federal infrastructure funding in 2024-2025. A statement announcing the deal says more than $825 million, representing about half of the five-year total, will go to TransLink, the Metro Vancouver transport network.

B.C. municipalities get $1.6 billion in federal infrastructure funds over five years

B.C. ranch-owning pilot dead, two passengers injured in private helicopter crash

B.C. ranch-owning pilot dead, two passengers injured in private helicopter crash
Police in southeastern British Columbia say a ranch owner is dead after the helicopter they were piloting crashed on Tuesday evening. Columbia Valley RCMP say they got the call at about 7 p.m.

B.C. ranch-owning pilot dead, two passengers injured in private helicopter crash

More rental housing development needed despite recent rise: RBC economist

More rental housing development needed despite recent rise: RBC economist
Even though rental housing construction in Canada has picked up significantly, more is needed to fill the demand backlog, according to a new RBC report. RBC economist Rachel Battaglia said rental housing starts reached their highest levels in decades in 2022 and 2023, with more than 80,000 new units started each year.

More rental housing development needed despite recent rise: RBC economist

Seven-year-old girl drowns in lake in northern Manitoba: Mounties

Seven-year-old girl drowns in lake in northern Manitoba: Mounties
Mounties say a seven-year-old girl has drowned while swimming in a lake in northeastern Manitoba. Police say the girl was with a group of other children on Gods Lake on Sunday, when she went under the water.

Seven-year-old girl drowns in lake in northern Manitoba: Mounties

Suspect's pants catch fire in arson attempt gone wrong: B.C. RCMP

Suspect's pants catch fire in arson attempt gone wrong: B.C. RCMP
Police in Metro Vancouver say they're looking for a man whose pants caught fire in an alleged arson attempt that went wrong. Richmond RCMP shared a photo showing two men, one on the ground with a pained facial expression as he reaches for his blazing pants, while the other man apparently tries to put out the flames.

Suspect's pants catch fire in arson attempt gone wrong: B.C. RCMP

Richmond RCMP emphasize the importance of responsible driving

Richmond RCMP emphasize the importance of responsible driving
Richmond R-C-M-P are emphasizing the importance of responsible driving during the summer months. It's part of their summer campaign to combat impaired driving to reduce the number of incidents and safeguard all road users.

Richmond RCMP emphasize the importance of responsible driving