From Retaliation to Renewal: Tariffs are a wake-up call for Canada

Despite panic over tariffs, the Canadian economy won’t collapse over the next sixty days. We have enough resiliency to hold an election and take the time to consider the options, and plan for a diversified future. And while that’s happening, Canadians are doing their part to find and buy Canadian goods, arguably the easier part of a larger effort to come. Canadian business are doing what they can to promote Canadian products. And the provincial premiers are making some progress on removing inter-provincial trade barriers so that goods might one day flow freely between all provinces, and Canadians.

An election focused on the short term -just getting rid of the tariffs - will deliver short term results. It's also the easiest campaign choice for the major parties, as it becomes about personalities and building trust and/or sowing division to win power. It’s a choice they should nonetheless avoid.

An election focused on where we want Canada to be in 2040 might just ensure that the youngest generations get a chance to experience the Canada that the Boomer generation already did. We haven’t had a consequential election since 1988; let’s have one now. It will be hard work to bring the varying regional views to the table and knit together a new vision for Canada that appeals to young and old, but the data doesn’t lie. It’s a conversation that is decades overdue.

For more insights, join us for our live webinar on March 26.

Read our full paper here