Gary Mar

Published in The Hill Times

June 12, 2025

Gary Mar: What we need is a co-ordinated, long-range strategy, a national trade corridor plan that links the country’s productive zones to its export gateways through reliable, resilient, multimodal infrastructure.

Canada’s new Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Tim Hodgson, has a vision: make Canada the global leader in energy and resource exports. It’s dynamic, timely, ambitious, and entirely within reach. We have the goods, now we need the delivery. If you can’t move it, you can’t sell it.

Canada has the natural resource endowment many countries envy: world-class energy reserves, critical minerals, forests, and vast agricultural capacity. We are the world’s leading producer of potash; we can feed the world with our abundance of wheat, canola and pulses; and we are an emerging player in hydrogen and biofuels. The world wants what we have, and more of it. But our ability to compete on the global stage is constrained by a logistics system that still fails to match the scale and complexity of our potential. Our biggest obstacle isn’t lack of demand—it’s infrastructure.

At first glance, the picture looks good. In the World Bank’s 2023 Logistics Performance Index, Canada ranked seventh overall—a solid position globally. But the details tell a different story. While we scored high in infrastructure quality and tracking systems, we lagged in a critical area: international shipments—where we scored just 3.6 out of five, far below our potential. That metric captures how efficiently and affordably exporters can arrange transport to foreign markets. In other words, even if the highways and rails exist, the overall system isn’t working fast or predictably enough to get goods where they need to go.

So, what’s holding us back?

Start with our ports—the gateways to global markets. From Vancouver to Halifax, key ports operate either at or near capacity with limited flexibility to scale. Rail and road links are vulnerable to weather and disruption, as the 2021 British Columbia floods made painfully clear. Co-ordination between jurisdictions and infrastructure modes is weak, and planning is often reactive instead of strategic. There’s also the challenge of moving goods from inland production regions—like the Prairies—to the coast. And while Canada’s customs system is getting better, our exporters still struggle with high costs and unreliable shipping logistics.

This isn’t just an inconvenience—it’s a national liability. Our competitors are investing in trade infrastructure with long-term strategies in mind. Australia, the United States, and the European Union are aligning capital to build resilient corridors, intermodal hubs, and next-generation logistics networks. Canada, by contrast, is still stuck in a fragmented approach where provinces, municipalities, and federal departments often pull in different directions.

What we need is a coordinated, long-range strategy—a national trade corridor plan that links the country’s productive zones to its export gateways through reliable, resilient, multimodal infrastructure. That means not just laying track or pouring asphalt, but building a logistics system that integrates rail, road, port and pipeline, supported by digital technology and faster permitting.

Hodgson has recognized the urgency. In his first public statements, he emphasized accelerating major project approvals and cutting red tape—aiming for decisions within two years. That’s a good start. But even quick wins won’t mean much without a broader vision to guide long-term investment and private sector confidence.

Such a plan must also address domestic bottlenecks. Canada lacks an “interstate”-style approach to building infrastructure between provinces, which leads to missed opportunities and weak links in our economic chain. We don’t just need more investment—we need smarter, better-targeted investment in high-value corridors. That means fixing rural access roads, revitalizing short-line rail and expanding port capacity in tandem with inland logistics hubs.

Fortunately, there’s momentum. In 2023, all 13 premiers unanimously backed the need for a national infrastructure strategy focused on trade. That consensus was reaffirmed this month, with first ministers recognizing that productivity, competitiveness and energy security all depend on how well we can move what we make.

This is a genuine nation-building opportunity—a Team Canada moment that brings together provinces, Indigenous communities, industry and the federal government around a shared goal: connecting Canadian goods to global markets, reliably and at scale.

Canada’s trade dream needs a nation-building infrastructure reset. Born on a railway, stalled on the sidetrack, because if you can’t move it, you can’t sell it.

Gary Mar is President and CEO of the Canada West Foundation