By Adam Legge Canada’s economy isn’t just struggling; it’s limping. Yet now, after a decade of drift and lost focus, it’s time to face the truth: we need to move quickly to protect the well-being of Canadians and the only fast and meaningful path to achieving that runs straight through our natural resource sector.

Zeroing in on some facts, July’s economic numbers showed a slight uptick, largely thanks to mining and oil and gas, but the bigger picture is grim: the economy shrank 0.4 per cent in the second quarter compared to the first quarter, and 1.6 per cent compared to the same quarter last year.

Canada’s real investment in industrial machinery and equipment fell in the second quarter to the lowest level on record, according to a recent National Bank report. This lack of investment is acute in the country’s manufacturing sector,

particularly in Ontario , where manufacturing capital stock is at the same level as 1974.

Meanwhile, United States President Donald Trump has forced Canada to confront a hard truth: we have taken the U.S. market for granted, neglected to diversify our other export markets and underinvested in everything from defence to trade infrastructure.

Trump’s tariffs are hitting key industries, such as autos, steel and aluminum, which are sectors vital to Canada’s trade and manufacturing base, but also ones that look to be in deep long-term trouble. Canada’s softwood lumber sector is the poster child of ongoing trade disputes with the U.S.

It’s obvious Canada’s trade and economic challenges are piling up. Our support for U.S. tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles has triggered retaliatory tariffs from China on Canadian canola, seafood, and pork.

Residential construction — a key driver of economic growth from Vancouver to Toronto — has hit a wall due to affordability pressures and

weak consumer confidence . Retail, Canada’s largest employment sector, is also struggling, and about 80 per cent of Canadians plan to spend less this season, with total spending expected to drop 10 per cent from 2024, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers Canada’s

Holiday Shopping Survey . Taken together, it should come as no surprise that Canada’s economy is in trouble.

But even given these significant headwinds, Canada’s natural resource sector — particularly oil and gas and mining — holds the power to turn things around.

Natural resource-related industries (including oil and gas, mining, agriculture, forestry and fishing) account for 17 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), 70 per cent of goods exports and 30 per cent of capital investment, and they offer some of the highest-paying jobs in the country. Plus, the impact of our natural resource industries ripples through the broader economy, sustaining jobs in small businesses, retail and housing markets.

Consider that when the Trans Mountain Expansion Project began shipping oil out of British Columbia, the

Bank of Canada estimated it would lift Canada’s GDP by 0.25 per cent — a substantial boost from a single project. The expansion is also projected to deliver

$1.25 billion in dividends to the federal government in 2025, with Alberta Central

estimating an additional $2 billion in federal tax revenue this year from the project.

Meanwhile, B.C. Premier David Eby has said LNG Canada, now shipping off the West Coast, is expected to grow Canada’s GDP by another 0.4 per cent.

None of this is to say that other sectors aren’t important to the economy — they are — but we need a supercharger for our economy and it’s the heft of the resource sector that can truly deliver it.

Canadians are behind an urgent drive for the resource sector as well. Business Council of Alberta polling indicates 70 per cent of Canadians support developing and exporting our natural resources, and 80 per cent back growing jobs and the economy through greater competitiveness.

An Angus Reid survey said 59 per cent of Canadians support an oil pipeline to B.C.’s north coast. Truly, those who speak against further resource development and export in Canada are, frankly, speaking against the prosperity and well-being of Canadians.

If Prime Minister Mark Carney wants to see $500 billion in private capital invested by the end of his government’s term, lofty as that sounds, it is achievable, but only if Canada goes big on the sector that can actually deliver it and we do it quickly.

Canada can improve its investment climate for the resource sector, unlocking billions in private capital waiting on the sidelines. That means pulling back policies that deter growth, such as the proposed oil and gas emissions cap and clean electricity regulations, and fast-tracking approvals for projects like LNG Phase 2, a West Coast oil pipeline, the Ring of Fire and critical mineral and mining projects nationwide. It means working early with Indigenous nations to ensure partnership, equity and shared prosperity. And it also means enhancing the port, rail, and air infrastructure to move our products to global markets.

We must also compete with the U.S. on taxes. Matching American corporate and personal tax rates, capital gains treatment and accelerated depreciation would attract investment dollars as well as the entrepreneurs and executives capable of delivering it.

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Above all, Canada must move faster. The U.S. built and implemented the Inflation Reduction Act in record time while we were still consulting on strategies for critical minerals and clean energy. Even our so-called “accelerated” processes are slow — Bill C-5 merely trims project approvals to two years from five.

In the U.S., major project approvals of six months are being envisioned. We can’t afford our pace. In early 2025, we were seized as a nation to move fast and do better at home. I worry the window on that unity is closing.

If we want to protect our economy and our prosperity, we need to act decisively on the resource sector with the scale and urgency this moment demands.