In “Building Canada’s Post-American Economy,” published by Project Syndicate on September 1, 2026, economists Ricardo Hausmann and Eric Protzer argue that Canada’s dependence on the United States has shifted from a commercial advantage to a strategic vulnerability. They cite repeated American tariffs, including measures imposed in 2018 and after Donald Trump returned to office in 2025, as evidence that preferential access to the US market cannot be assumed.
The authors do not advocate severing the economic relationship. The United States remains Canada’s largest and most natural trading partner. Instead, they argue that Canada needs industries able to sell competitively across several continents, giving businesses alternative customers when political decisions disrupt American access.
Their central concern is productive capacity. Signing more trade agreements will accomplish little if Canadian firms cannot grow, innovate and compete internationally. Canada therefore needs to address the structural obstacles that prevent successful companies from scaling.
This is an argument for diversification rather than isolation. Developing new industries and markets is expensive, slow and uncertain. Nevertheless, reduced dependence could provide economic insurance while Canada preserves its American partnership and builds greater domestic strength and international reach.
One Country, Too Many Internal Barriers
Canada cannot credibly pursue global markets while businesses and workers still encounter unnecessary barriers when crossing provincial boundaries.
Different product standards, licensing systems, transportation requirements and administrative procedures can make national expansion more complicated and expensive.
Approximately $527 billion in goods and services moves between provinces and territories annually. The federal government estimates that eliminating internal trade barriers could eventually add as much as $210 billion to the Canadian economy.
Recent mutual-recognition initiatives are constructive. Under this principle, a product legally approved for sale in one province could generally be sold in another without completing a second regulatory process. Similar cooperation is needed for professional credentials and labour mobility. The goal should be to eliminate duplication, not accountability.
Immigration Must Be Connected to Real Economic Needs
Canada has attracted educated and experienced newcomers, but it frequently fails to use their abilities effectively.
Statistics Canada found that 32.6% of recent immigrants with postsecondary qualifications reported being overqualified for their jobs, compared with 19.1% of Canadian-born workers. Recent immigrants were also more likely to work outside their field of study. This represents more than an employment problem. It is a loss of productive capacity.
Canada should connect immigration more closely to verified regional and sectoral requirements. Provinces need better information about the occupations, technical abilities and levels of experience that employers actually require.
Selection alone is insufficient. A country gains little by recruiting engineers, healthcare professionals, technicians or construction specialists and then leaving them unable to practise.
This does not mean lowering professional standards. It means replacing vague, repetitive or unnecessarily prolonged processes with transparent assessments of competence.
Immigration should also complement domestic education and employer training. It cannot become a substitute for apprenticeships, workforce development or adequate wages.
Train for Specific Capabilities, Not General Aspirations
Governments frequently announce funding for “skills” without defining the actual capability being developed or the employment outcome it is expected to produce.
Training should respond to demonstrated needs. In construction, for example, the requirement may be for concrete formwork, building-envelope installation, project controls, estimating, building-information modelling or specific mechanical and electrical trades. A broad introduction to the industry does not necessarily prepare someone for these roles.
Training providers should be evaluated by verified outcomes, including employment in the relevant field, wage progression and credential completion. Attendance and certificates alone are weak measures of success.
Make It Easier for New Competitors to Enter
Canada also needs to examine the obstacles confronting entrepreneurs and new businesses.
Permits, registrations, inspections and professional rules may protect workers, consumers and the public. But when requirements overlap, remain unclear or take an unreasonable amount of time, they discourage investment and protect established firms from competition.
New entrants are important because they introduce different technologies, business models and sources of productivity. They also give skilled newcomers a path to create companies rather than waiting indefinitely for an employer to recognize their previous experience.
Governments should provide a single, understandable entry process for starting and expanding a business. Applications should have predictable fees, defined review periods and a clear appeal mechanism.
Regulation should be proportionate to risk. Opening a small professional service should not require the same process as operating a hazardous industrial facility.
Diversification Requires Productive Capacity
Canada is already selling more outside the United States. Global Affairs Canada reports that exports to non-US markets increased by 11.1% in 2025, raising their share of Canadian exports to the highest level in more than four decades.
True diversification requires more Canadian companies capable of producing competitive goods and services at international scale. Trade agreements and overseas missions can open doors, but businesses must still be productive enough to enter.
Canada’s relationship with the United States will remain essential. Geography and integrated supply chains make any rapid economic separation unrealistic and potentially costly.
The practical objective is not isolation. It is resilience.
A stronger Canada would remain closely connected to the United States while becoming less vulnerable to decisions made there. But that resilience must be built internally.
Canada cannot control every decision made by its trading partners. It can control how effectively it develops and uses the people, businesses and capabilities already within its borders.
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