Summer gone
The economy hits tariff headwinds. The Major Projects Office launches. More meetups! And the fascinating story behind Canadian Tire.
Build Canada contributor Alex MacDonald went exploring in Yukon this summer. He sent us this photo of watching the extended sunset, between 12-1am, from half-way up a fire tower on a hill adjacent to Midnight Dome above Dawson City.
“A Nation of Builders”
The ship transporting the hopes that Canada might continue to weather Trump’s tariff storm relatively unscathed got taken hard aback this week, with the release of Statistics Canada’s latest quarterly report on the economy. The numbers were grim: An annualized decline in real gross domestic product of 1.6 per cent, driven largely by an enormous 26.8 per cent annualized drop in exports, in particular in the automobile sector, as well as a 10.1 per cent fall in business investment. The damage was partially offset by healthy domestic demand, but the results significantly raised expectations that the Bank of Canada will cut interest rates at its September meeting.
How the economy evolves over the rest of this year and into 2026 depends a lot on just whether there is any progress in ending the trade war with the United States, and if there are clear steps towards a meaningful renewal of the CUSMA agreement. Dominic Leblanc, who is Canada’s point-man on Canada-U.S. trade, was in Washington this week and spent a couple of hours meeting with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. While nothing concrete seems to have come from the meeting, Leblanc said there had been “progress.”
Figuring out our trade relationship with the United States is important, but as we have said repeatedly here at Build Canada, the best focus of our effort and energy should be to do what we must here at home to make Canada into the most prosperous country in the world, the best place to raise a family and to start a business. That is why the announcement Friday of the new Major Projects Office (MPO), responsible for fast-tracking infrastructure projects of national interest, comes not a minute too soon. The office will be led by Dawn Farrell, the former head of Trans Mountain, and will be headquartered in Calgary. According to the press release from the prime minister’s office, the mandate of the MPO is to “serve as a single point of contact to get nation-building projects built faster. It will do so in two principal ways. First, by streamlining and accelerating regulatory approval processes. Second, by helping to structure and co-ordinate financing of these projects as needed.”
While it remains to be seen how effective this office will be, there is one thing we quite like already and that is that it will be headquartered in Calgary, with offices across the country. This is a much-needed bridge to Alberta, and is a welcome change from former prime minister Justin Trudeau’s seeming insistence on putting every new office, institute or initiative in Montreal.
Finally, we would like to note without comment this quote provided by the PMO’s comms shop along with the press release about the MPO:
“Canada has always been a nation of builders, from the St. Lawrence Seaway to Expo 67. At this hinge moment in our history, Canada must draw on this legacy and act decisively to transform our economy from reliance to resilience. We are moving at a speed not seen in generations to build ports, railways, energy grids – the major projects that will unlock Canada’s full economic potential and build Canada strong. I am thrilled that Dawn Farrell, one of Canada’s most experienced executives, is stepping up to help lead this vital priority.”
The Rt. Hon. Mark Carney, Prime Minister of Canada
What’s new at Build Canada
We all know Canadian Tire of course — it’s where everyone lines up on weekends for camping gear or hockey equipment or kitchen appliances or garden stuff or just about anything else you might need (even the occasional set of tires). It’s a part of our heritage, as the saying goes. But we weren’t fully dialled into the company’s origin story: the Billes brothers who started Canadian Tire with a dream, and Martha Billes, the force who kept it Canadian. Her story and impact deserves to be better known, and Amanda Rose does a wonderful job with it in this week’s Great Canadian Builders.
Build Canada is coming to Montreal! We are hosting our first-ever Montreal meetup, bringing together local builders, founders, policy thinkers, and engaged Montreal residents who are shaping Canada's future. Join CEO Lucy Hargreaves in conversation with Harley Finkelstein, President of Shopify, for an evening of ideas, connections, and community. Register now!
Understanding Canada is a biweekly reading group in Toronto hosted by Zander Fraser where interested minds gather to read and review Canadian reports & papers on policy, cultural, and economic challenges. Together we will investigate the deepest problems facing our country, comprehend the seemingly indigestible webs of information surrounding them, and craft new perspectives. If you’re someone who seeks to build a better Canada but still need a place to begin, learn, and meet likeminded people – then this is the evening for you. The first meeting is September 11th — you can sign up here.
This week Lucy also sat down with Mina Mitry, the Co-founder and CEO of Kepler Communications, Canada's largest satellite operator. They discussed his Build Canada memo and the dire situation in the Canadian space sector – once a leader but now falling behind. You can watch the full interview on X here.
If you’d like write a story for Great Canadian Builders, organize an event in your city, or are looking for other ways to get involved, join us on Discord. This is where we collaborate day-to-day. To that end, we’d like to thank Jen Mazzarolo, who has been actively fostering our community there. An entrepreneur and CPA, CA that runs her own recruitment firm, Jen also greets newcomers in Discord, writes Builder pieces, and is one of Build Canada’s biggest cheerleaders. Thank you Jen!
What else we are reading
Energy minister Tim Hodgson thinks Justin Trudeau should have tried harder to sell Canadian natural gas to Europe.
In her must-read newsletter The Functionary, Kathryn May digs into the bombshell report from PBO Yves Giroux on the federal government’s labour costs.
Maclean’s has a good interview with AI minister Evan Solomon. And in the Hill Times, David Matsinhe argues that Canada needs to make AI literacy an educational imperative.
In the Winnipeg Free Press, David McLaughlin makes the case for a youth national service program. Paul Kershaw says they already do enough. And recall there was a Build Canada memo on the subject.
Meanwhile, the Globe reports that the summer funk is not over for jobless young Canadians.
A school board in Surrey, B.C., is dealing with overcrowding in high schools by moving to hybrid learning, and selling it as giving students “flexibility”.
After months of deliberation, the Montreal transit service is still trying to decide whether to return “Go Habs Go” to the electronic signs on buses.
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