Canada needs smart investments

The Canadian government believes that smart investments are needed in areas such as critical minerals, energy, agriculture and electric vehicles to help make Canada a leader in the clean and digital technologies the world is counting on.

As well, education, training and skills development will be crucial to ensure Canadians thrive in a changing economy.

In light of the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, the Canadian government believes that significant steps will need to be taken to ensure that Canada remains competitive in North America and globally.

Canada faces the future with many strengths: a highly skilled population, a way of life and society that attracts people from around the world, and abundant natural resources.

But Canada will need capital to finance the huge investments necessary to meet the challenges of the future.

In Canada, the transition to a net-zero economy will require significant investments from both governments and the private sector.

Investments will also be needed to limit strategic supply chain vulnerabilities.

In the past, strong investment in the oil and gas sector compensated for weakness in other segments of the economy.

As the world moves toward net zero, global investment growth in that sector has slowed, and the historical weakness of business investment in Canada has become more apparent.

Smart investments

Canadian companies have invested in information and communication technologies (ICT) only half as much as their U.S. counterparts.

These types of investments drive productivity growth and are essential to equipping Canadian workers to succeed in the economy of the future.

Although some new investment has been made by major firms in the Canadian economy over the past 12 months, it remains 1.2% below its pre-pandemic level.

In particular, investment in the oil and gas sector remains weak despite the sharp rise in oil prices following the illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine.

This weakness in business investment has also been reflected in the performance of foreign direct investment (FDI) in new capital projects, the type of so-called greenfield investments that contribute to Canada’s productive capacity.