It’s Time for Canada to Say “Yes” to Economy-Building Natural Resource Projects

Since 2015, Canada has witnessed the cancellation or indefinite delay of more than $670 billion in natural resource projects. This staggering figure represents lost jobs, foregone tax revenue, missed economic opportunities, and diminished prosperity for Canadian and Indigenous communities across our nation. Meanwhile, an increasingly challenging trade relationship with our largest export market – the U.S., which accounts for about 75% of Canadian exports ^[1] – is adding to our economic problems.

Canadians must realize that to take control of our economic destiny, the path forward couldn’t be any clearer: we must attract new investment into our energy, forestry, food, and mining production and build the critical trade infrastructure required to diversify our export markets. This includes the construction of new pipelines, power lines, ports, railways, and roads.

We must act now to secure our economic future in an increasingly competitive global marketplace. That means putting our lackadaisical attitude towards natural resource development aside - for good.

Canadians Cannot Afford to Say "No" to Resource Development

The economic consequences of putting major resource investments on the back burner over the past several years have been profound and far-reaching.

Letting opportunities to develop our resources pass us by has undermined Canada's economic future and global competitiveness. Canadians have lost out on new jobs for our families, tax revenues to pay for social programs such as healthcare and education, and long-term economic prosperity for future generations.

Consider Northern Gateway - a pipeline expected to generate approximately $300 billion in economic activity over its lifetime before it was ultimately cancelled. This project is one of many now-defunct resource projects that represent countless foregone economic opportunities for Canadian and Indigenous families and would have played a role in insulating our economy from U.S. tariffs. It is important to note that since it was cancelled, global oil demand has grown by several million barrels per day.

Pacific Northwest LNG is another concerning example of how Canada’s attitude towards resource development over the past several years has hindered major projects. Before the cancellation of the $36 billion project was announced, its proponents:

“…had been losing hope for months and were distressed about the continuing legal challenges, local opposition that would have required police protection to proceed with any work, coming policy changes and a sense that they were just not welcome.” ^[2]

After years of gruelling regulatory reviews and $10 billion spent, Pacific Northwest LNG was no closer to construction. ^[2]

The mining sector faces the same protracted regulatory difficulties as energy, with its seemingly purgatory permitting processes that our country has become notorious for. A recent report found that it took an average of 27 years for Canadian mining projects to go from discovery to production - a significantly longer timeframe than in many other mining jurisdictions abroad. ^[4]

Canadians must understand that capital is highly mobile in today's global economy. When investors face years of regulatory uncertainty, a lack of political support, extremely high starting costs, and governments unwilling to stand up to the “no-to-everything” activists and uphold the rule of law, they don't simply abandon their projects - they relocate them to jurisdictions where they can proceed more efficiently and make a quicker, more profitable return on investment for their shareholders.

Global Resource Demand Doesn't Disappear

When Canada doesn’t develop its natural resources, we must understand a fundamental economic reality: global demand for energy, mining, forestry, and agriculture products doesn't vanish. Our reluctance to produce these resources does nothing to reduce worldwide consumption—it merely shifts production to other jurisdictions abroad, along with the immense economic opportunities that go with.

Take LNG as a perfect example.

Global demand for LNG continues to skyrocket, with the latest industry outlook suggesting a 60% increase in LNG demand by 2040. ^[3] When projects like Pacific Northwest LNG don’t make it to the finish line, Canada loses out on potential market share to countries like Qatar, Russia, Australia, or the United States.

A recent report highlighted the massive economic impact of LNG on the U.S. economy. Since 2016, the industry added CAD $586 billion to the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) and supported an average of 273,000 U.S. jobs. For perspective, Canada’s entire economy in 2024 was approximately $2.5 trillion. ^[5]

Unlike Canada, the U.S. has been quick to pounce on LNG development; from 2014 to 2020, it built seven LNG export facilities and approved many more. Today, despite having about 20 projects proposed at one point, we still don't have one major facility built.

While Canada has dragged its feet on LNG, the U.S. is projected to account for one-third of global supply growth through 2040 ^[3] – and, as evidenced by the report mentioned above, our southern neighbour is already seeing massive economic benefits.

What a lost opportunity this is for Canadian and Indigenous families.

The same principle applies across all resource sectors. Global demand for the critical minerals essential to battery technologies is skyrocketing. If Canada doesn't develop its deposits of copper, nickel, lithium, and rare earth elements, these materials will be sourced from other jurisdictions. The same goes for wood, food, and other resources that Canada has in abundance.

By saying "no" to Canadian resource development, we're effectively saying "yes" to surrendering our future economic prosperity to international competitors. What kind of legacy will missing out on these massive nation-building projects leave for our future generations to come?

The Profound Economic Costs of Saying "No" to Resource Development

Time to take control of our own economic future. Let’s get shovels in the ground! pic.twitter.com/GXXH5DBL00

— Canada Action (@CanadaAction) March 4, 2025

Canada’s obstruction of resource development over the past several years extends far beyond concerning headlines of hundreds of billions of dollars worth in cancelled projects. The ripple effects touch virtually every aspect of our economic well-being, including:

Lost employment opportunities: Each major resource project represents thousands of high-paying jobs, particularly in rural, remote, and Indigenous communities where such opportunities are often scarce. The Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion, for example, saw more than 37,277 people work on the project. In 2018, it came close to cancellation, but was then bought by the federal government to keep it alive.

Diminished government revenues: Resource projects generate billions in tax revenue that fund our critical social programs such as healthcare, education, infrastructure, and emergency services. For example, British Columbia’s vast wealth of mineral and metals, if developed, could generate $154.5 billion in long-term tax revenues. How can we afford to say “no” to such massive economic opportunities?

Lost economic reconciliation: Many First Nations communities view resource development as a pathway to self-determination and prosperity. Projects like Coastal GasLink included approximately $1 billion in contracts to Indigenous businesses, while Indigenous-led projects like Cedar LNG are providing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for First Nations to become self-sustaining. Saying "no" to resource projects means saying "no" to Indigenous economic reconciliation and opportunity.

Decreased investor confidence: Canada's reputation as a stable, predictable place to invest suffers when projects aren’t approved – like Pacific Northwest LNG or Energy East - especially after proponents spend billions of dollars on initial regulatory steps. What investor would spend that kind of capital in Canada on a project when it could cost less than half to do so and take half the time to get approved elsewhere?

Reduced standard of living: Perhaps the most concerning result of our passive attitude towards resource development is the impact on our national productivity and standard of living. As major capital investments flee Canada, our labour productivity growth has stagnated, leading to the disturbing decline in our relative standard of living compared to peer nations. ^[4] Without a reversal of this trend, we face a future of diminished economic prospects for generations to come.

A Better Path Forward

Canada must chart a better course that recognizes our vast endowment of energy, forestry, mining, and agriculture resources as a blessing to benefit all Canadians. This means leveraging our abundant resources, skilled workforce, and innovative capacity to create prosperity at home while meeting growing global demand for all of the above.

We need a balanced approach that says “yes” to natural resource development while ignoring the naysayers who would rather have us keep all of that wealth in the ground.

Here are a few ways that Canadians can find a better path forward:

#1. Streamline regulatory processes for certainty and efficiency: Projects should face rigorous but efficient review processes with clear timelines and predictable outcomes for investors. Regulatory clarity is essential to attracting the capital investment needed for major infrastructure development.

#2. Support Indigenous economic participation: Resource projects must include meaningful Indigenous partnerships, equity ownership opportunities, and respect for rights and title. The path to economic reconciliation requires that Indigenous communities have the opportunity to benefit from resource development on their traditional lands.

#3. Invest in critical export infrastructure: Beyond individual projects, Canada needs strategic investments in export infrastructure—pipelines, power lines, ports, railways, and roads—to diversify our markets beyond the U.S. and reduce our vulnerability to trade actions, either now or in the future, from our largest trading partner.

#4. Encourage technological innovation across resource sectors: Canadian resource companies are global leaders in developing advanced technologies that improve productivity, efficiency, and competitiveness. We should accelerate Canadian-made innovation, not stifle it, by supporting revenue-generating resource developments.

#5. Promote Canadian resources as the best choice: Our natural resources are produced in a democratic system with stringent regulatory oversight and high labour standards—we should be marketing these advantages to global buyers seeking reliable trading partners.

The World Needs More Canadian Resources

The world’s future resource needs for oil, natural gas, critical minerals, wood, food, and other such products offer enormous opportunities for Canada’s economy to flourish.

With our relatively stable political system, strong rule of law, and vast natural resource wealth, we should position ourselves as a supplier of choice for essential commodities the world needs—but only if we're willing to say "yes" to new development, streamline permits and regulatory processes, and provide increased clarity to investors that their projects will make it to the finish line.

Saying “yes” to new pipelines, ports, power lines, railways, and roads means building the economic foundation needed to support our cherished social programs and maintain our high standard of living for generations to come.

Time for a New Approach

Natural resources represent one of Canada's greatest competitive advantages in a challenging global economy, yet we've squandered this advantage through endless developmental obstruction and delay.

To change our economic fortunes, Canadians must embrace a pragmatic, growth-oriented approach to resource development that prioritizes economic security and allows us to take control of our destiny.

Canada was built by visionaries who connected our vast nation through critical transportation and resource infrastructure. This legacy of nation-building created a strong foundation for the prosperity we've long enjoyed. We must reclaim this heritage and take on new nation-building projects once again.

It's time for Canadians to start saying "yes" to a stronger, more secure economy by utilizing our job-creating, prosperity-generating energy, forestry, mining, and agriculture sectors.

It's time for Canada to start building the pipelines, ports, power lines, railways, and roads we need to flourish. By reconnecting with our Canadian roots as a nation of builders, we can secure our economic independence and create opportunities for generations to come.

Premier @TimHoustonNS is 100% correct with this message about breaking down interprovincial trade barriers to secure our economic future:

"...Connecting Canadians means also connecting Canada via a pipeline from west to east.

So that we in the Maritimes and Atlantic Canada no… pic.twitter.com/seB6RXom6L

— Canada Action (@CanadaAction) March 4, 2025

SOURCES:

_{1 - https://www.edc.ca/en/guide/market-intelligence-united-states.html}

_{2 - https://financialpost.com/commodities/energy/pacific-northwest-lng-2012-2017-how-to-kill-an-lng-project-in-canada}

_{3 - https://www.shell.com/what-we-do/oil-and-natural-gas/liquefied-natural-gas-lng/lng-outlook-2025.html}

_{4 - https://cdn.ihsmarkit.com/www/pdf/0724/SPGlobal_NMA_DevelopmentTimesUSinPerspective_June_2024.pdf}

_{5 - https://www.worldeconomics.com/Country-Size/Canada.aspx}