Business leaders say they have a blueprint for economic success. They want federal candidates to listen
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With the yo-yoing threat of U.S. tariffs dominating business headlines, a business conference in Saskatchewan — the landlocked province historically known as the breadbasket of the world and also boasting oil, uranium and potash resources — featured a strong undercurrent of dissatisfaction with hurdles to getting products to market.
"Saskatchewan has what the world needs," was a commonly expressed sentiment at the Global Food, Fuel and Farm Summit held in Regina this past week, an event hosted by the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce. CBC attended as part of its national effort to ask Canadians what matters most to them in the federal election.
"I think we have a tremendous opportunity for us as Canadians," said Prabha Ramaswamy, CEO for the chamber, pointing to a rise of patriotism in recent weeks.
"I think it's been a defining moment for us, where as Canadians we're asking ourselves what our values are, and I think we have to build on the momentum, come together as Canadians and look at how we can strengthen our domestic economy."
What issue matters the most to you this federal election, and why? Share your personal stories with us at ask@cbc.ca.
Prairie innovation was highlighted at the conference, with attendees pointing to Saskatchewan-based work like incorporating artificial intelligence into engineering projects or turning biomass-derived carbon into lithium batteries.
However, those at the conference said they see the same barriers to doing business continually crop up, making them top of mind as industries consider what matters most in the next federal election.
Karen Churchill is the president and CEO of Ag-West Bio, a not-for-profit that invests in ag start-ups, and said she is most concerned with regulatory barriers such as requirements for projects to have greenhouse gas assessments and mitigation, costs borne by industry. The other big weight on her mind was whether Canada is ready to make big investments in infrastructure.
"We need to get our products to market. We need to actually invest in all the institutions, whether they be research institutions or basic roads, railways … [and] pipelines."
She's concerned there's a divide between western provinces and decision-makers in Ottawa.
"Here in the west, I think we just don't feel heard in the east," she said. "When you talk about pipelines, that's a huge disconnect also with the barriers to innovation where you see policies developed in the east not being very friendly to the west."
Ramaswamy said the Canadian Chamber of Commerce has issued four calls of action to strengthen Canada's economy, including one about the long discussed but yet-to-be-realized east-west energy corridor.
The three other calls are to tear down internal trade barriers, boost domestic procurement and renegotiate free trade agreements with the U.S. and Mexico.
Politicians have long talked about west-to-east transportation and infrastructure, said Grant McLellan, a senior strategy advisor with Prairie Sky Strategy, but there's a gap between some of that talk and tangible action.
"The biggest pressure that we always hear is we need port expansion, we need rail line growth and construction of new rail lines. We need pipeline expansion to make sure that we have access across the country to resources that are developed right here in Canada," he said, adding that there can be opposition in provinces like Quebec that stall projects like pipelines.
Like Churchill, McLellan wants to see a streamlining of regulatory approvals to ensure business and industry projects can move forward.
"We really need a federal government that is prepared to make tough decisions that aren't necessarily going to be political, politically appeasing to certain parts of the country, but are good for nation building and are good for Canada's future and good for Canada removing itself from the reliance on markets like the United States."
While there might be a perception that oil and gas or other energy partners are opposed to environmental regulation, Ran Narayanasamy, president and CEO of the Petroleum Technology Research Centre, said that's not the case.
"Nobody's saying, 'Hey, I'm going to produce a product. We don't care about the environment,'" he said.
The problem is that federal environmental regulations are formed without consultation with industry partners, Narayanasamy said.
"We don't want the policies to curtail the development of the energy industry in Western Canada, especially in Saskatchewan."
Narayanasamy said he wants to hear federal leaders express pride in what Canada has to offer, whether that's oil, potash or canola.
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Listen to article Approaching Churchill's port by train, the twin grain towers appear from kilometers away across the tundra. It's 25 below in April, and Hudson Bay is trapped under a layer of ice as deep as three meters. This tourist town of 850 people and its increasingly strategic port is asleep — waiting for a spring ice breakup that is still months away. For nearly a century, the port at Churchill has languished as a great western hope, repeatedly dashed — the terminus of North America's rail system at sub-Arctic tidewater — where politics and geography have conspired to make this place more a dead end than the apex of a great trade corridor. But Churchill's fortunes are changing. The under-used seaport and its flood-prone rail line have been transformed from a white elephant into a nation-building project — spurred by a new urgency to seek alternative markets in the wake of a US-imposed global trade war. 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OmniTRAX declared force majeure and the rail line was inoperable for more than two years, cutting off the rail lifeline to many northern communities with no road access. If there is an Achilles' heel to the gateway, it's the final stretch from Gillam where the railway line makes an abrupt northward turn to Churchill. It runs through a bog ecosystem that needs massive amounts of ballast — rock and gravel — to shore up and raise the track above the water line. This last stretch is also built over permafrost — which is becoming more unstable due to unpredictable warm temperatures. For Rhoda deMeulles, owner of the Churchill Home Building Centre, a key supplier of building materials from the south to contractors in town and the far north, the debacle that followed the 2017 washout was a near-death experience. 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'Ports are the easy bit,' said Michael Byers, Canada Research Chair in Global Politics and International Law at the University of British Columbia, and author of multiple books on the Arctic. 'Roads and rail-lines to and from Arctic ports are hard, especially now because of melting permafrost and shorter seasons for ice roads,' he said. An April report by the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, a think tank, questioned the rationale of developing northern corridors. It argued roads and seasonal ports in the Canadian North are "incredibly expensive to build and maintain, and their use case is limited." Chris Avery, CEO of Arctic Gateway Group – a unit of the OneNorth partnership of 41 Manitoba First Nation and bayline communities which assumed ownership and operation of the port and railway in 2018 – insisted the current route has a future. 'Churchill will never replace the Ports of Vancouver or Montreal,' said Avery. 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That's why there's a plan to establish a second port on the Nelson River not far to the south of Churchill – which does not navigate permafrost to the same degree, but is hindered by massive flows of river-borne sediment. Feiyue Wang and Barry Prentice, a professor and transportation and supply chain expert at the University of Manitoba's Transport Institute, have both recently suggested that the stretch of rail between Gillam and Churchill needs to be rebuilt on rockier ground to avoid permafrost. 'They built the [upper] rail line essentially through a frozen peat bog, and it's been a problem for 100 years,' said Prentice, who remains a champion of Churchill as a resource gateway, with a major caveat: 'What that whole system needs is billions of dollars in investment, not millions, because you've got to do much more than just fix the railway.' June 6th 2025 Christopher Pollon Keep reading Canada's future lies in the Arctic — and with Europe By Jaden Braves Opinion March 27th 2025 Americans keep an eye on Arctic port revival in Churchill By Christopher Pollon Analysis Business April 26th 2025 Canada spends $1.5 billion to boost Arctic sovereignty and empower Inuit communities By Sonal Gupta News Urban Indigenous Communities in Ottawa March 12th 2025 Share this article Share on Bluesky Share on LinkedIn Comments
National Observer
an hour ago
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Canada's retrofit momentum hinges on more than just heat pumps
The new federal mandate letter call for 'bringing down costs for Canadians' and 'creating new careers in the skilled trades.' Residential retrofits can do both, giving renewed urgency to programs like the Canada Greener Homes Initiative. A special warrant issued just before the federal election ensured a temporary top-up for the Greener Homes Loan program. However, unless long-term funding is secured, the program could soon stall, mirroring the abrupt end of the Greener Homes Grant. The Greener Homes Initiative — largely due to the grant portion — has arguably been successful in meeting government goals. According to Green Communities Canada, from 2020 to 2024, the Greener Homes Grant and other rebate and grant programs supported more than 605,000 retrofits. However, only 29,000 were considered deep energy retrofits. Most of the funds went to mechanical system upgrades, like heat pumps, to replace existing heating and cooling units approaching the end of their lives. Heat pumps have become a go-to solution for electrifying heating and cooling, especially when a furnace or air conditioner reaches the end of its life. They are efficient and climate-friendly. But heat pumps alone do not constitute a deep retrofit. According to Natural Resources Canada, a deep energy retrofit involves a suite of coordinated upgrades that reduce a building's energy use by up to 60 per cent. That includes insulation, air sealing, ventilation, windows and doors, mechanical systems like heat pumps, and smart grid integration. Design teams at the Pembina Institute's Reframed Lab estimate that deep retrofits can cut energy use by as much as 90 per cent, and reduce operational carbon emissions between 68 and 99 per cent. Compare that to a standard mechanical replacement at end-of-life, which delivers reductions of just three to 55 per cent. While there are many on-ramps in the retrofit process, one of the most impactful, especially for older homes, is starting with the building envelope. Adequate insulation and airtightness reduce heating and cooling demand, making homes more comfortable and efficient. These improvements also last for decades, far longer than the average 15-year lifespan of furnaces or heat pumps. The clock is ticking. Roughly 12 million existing low-rise houses in Canada must be retrofitted by 2050, write Betsy Agar, Jessica McIlroy and Jay Nordenstrom Crucially, an envelope-first approach allows for properly 'right-sized' heat pumps, which perform better and cost less to operate. Yet insulation and air sealing — considered 'minor' and 'low-cost' by federal program definitions — remain underused. ICF estimates that 89 per cent of Canadian homes are under-insulated. Many current programs unintentionally reinforce this pattern by supporting heat pump replacements without encouraging homeowners to complete multiple, coordinated upgrades. That leaves efficiency gains — and emissions reductions — on the table. And the clock is ticking. Roughly 12 million existing low-rise houses in Canada must be retrofitted by 2050. That's an average of 480,000 homes per year for the next 25 years. It's a staggering target that cannot be reached without deeper, better-sequenced retrofits. The new government is also reviewing its overall approach to energy efficiency, making this a crucial moment to ensure retrofit programs evolve to meet today's challenges. Now is the time to strengthen policies that reduce emissions, bring down household costs, and create good jobs across the country. The urgency to extend funding for programs like the Canada Greener Homes Initiative is real, but so is the need to evolve. As governments look to secure the loan program's future, they should ensure it's structured to deliver on its full potential — not just enabling action, but helping Canadians take the right steps, in the right order. Future programs should also focus on comprehensive deep retrofits for social, below-market housing, especially low–rise, multi–unit residential buildings (MURBs) built in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Canada needs to protect this particular type of housing segment from declining in condition and number. Markets will respond if retrofit programs are adjusted in simple, strategic ways. To scale deep retrofits, we need a stronger business case — one that highlights more than just energy savings. These upgrades improve health, boost resilience during extreme weather, reduce insurance risks and lower household costs. Heat pumps are efficient, but they aren't deep retrofits on their own. Federal, provincial and municipal governments — as well as utilities — must rethink their programs. That means redesigning or adding offerings that support the full sequence of upgrades. Only then can we help homeowners make smarter choices and reach our climate goals. Betsy Agar is director of buildings policy at Efficiency Canada.
