[Editor’s Note: Dr. Pagtakhan – a retired medical professor from the University of Manitoba and former Parliamentary Secretary to former Prime Minister Jean Chretien and Minister of Western Economic Diversification in former Prime Minister Paul Martin’s cabinet – served in Parliament from 1988 to 2004. This Commentary is from his column, Medisina at Politika, published in Pilipino Express.]
September 16, 2025: Impressive, indeed! In the preceding two weeks – five days apart – the federal government made two exciting announcements: 1) Canada’s New Industrial Strategy and 2) the Five Nation-Building Projects. They validate what Prime Minister Mark Carney has often said: “We cannot control what other nations do. We can control … what we build for ourselves. Canada is building the strongest economy in the G7, one that is less reliant on foreign powers and more resilient in the face of global shocks.”
[*Note: The G7 is an informal group – not a formal institution with a charter and a secretariat – of industrialized democracies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom and the United States – that meets annually to discuss pressing economic concerns, global economic governance, international security and, most recently, artificial intelligence. It started as the Group of Six in 1975, with Canada joining as a member in 1976 and the European Union (EU) – representing the EU member states’ leaders and the EU’s executive body (the European Commission) – participating as a “non-enumerated” member since 1981. Its combined gross domestic product last year was nearly $57 trillion or nearly a third (about 29%) of the global economy.]
Uncertainty and concerns
In more than half-a-century that I have been in Canada, I have not felt as I do now the deep sense of economic uncertainty and concerns shared by many Canadians: displacement of workers, disruption of supply chains, depression of new investments, threats to businesses, and increase in the cost of living. All as a consequence of the rapidly shifting trade landscape worldwide due, in large part, to the tariff war unleashed by US President Donald Trump. While President Trump’s executive order on tariff has since be judged ‘illegal’ by two US courts, the rulings are on appeal and will only be heard in November; hence, the continuing economic uncertainty.
Two exciting announcements
To address the urgency of the moment, with an eye to a sustainable future of prosperity even better than the past, the Prime Minister made two recent announcements within a week of each other, namely:
I. September 5, 2025 – New Industrial Strategy = $75B
The importance of this new strategy cannot be emphasized enough since “Canadian industry is the backbone of our country’s economy,” as Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry, so eloquently put it. In essence, the new industrial strategy will facilitate: 1) acquisition of new skills by workers, and 2) retooling of production and diversification of products by businesses. Let me summarize some of these measures:
- Creation of a strong, confident workforce – $3.37 billion allocated as follows:
- $450M over three years for re-skilling workers – to re-skill 50,000 workers by a combination of skills training, wage subsidies and career counselling; will benefit mid-career, long-tenured workers affected by U.S. tariffs and global market shifts, as well as underrepresented groups, such as persons with disabilities, women and Indigenous Peoples;
- $50M over 5 years for new digital tool –to facilitate job search and applications and finding training courses;
- $382M over five years for workforce alliances – to bring together employers, unions and industry groups to handle urgent labour market challenges on sectors under pressure like auto parts, steel and aluminum and those with growth potential such as energy and critical minerals;
- $50M for a new Workforce Innovation Fund – to invest in projects tailored to local job markets to help businesses recruit and retain the workforce they need;
- $1.6B over five years for extra weeks of Employment Insurance (EI) benefits for long-tenured workers – to temporarily give long-tenured workers 20 extra weeks of income support, up to a maximum of 65 weeks;
- $424M and $418M over two years on severance payments and one-week waiting period for extension of certain EI measures to April 11, 2026 – to ensure income stability for workers, particularly those who are most vulnerable during a prolonged economic downturn;
- A new Strategic Response Fund – $5B – to ensure companies in key sectors survive the immediate trade pressures and also pivot to grow in the face of them;
- A new Buy Canadian Policy – $70B – to ensure Canadian suppliers and their products are prioritized in all federal spending and to require local content and purchases from partners when Canadian suppliers are truly unavailable to ensure Canadians benefit from federal spending, even when foreign suppliers are involved;
- $370M over 2 years for assisting Canada’s canola and agricultural producers – to assist domestic producers restructure their value chains with incentives;
- $1B over three years for regional tariff response initiative –– to allow more small and medium-sized enterprises to invest in their growth, diversify markets, and create new revenue sources;
II. September 10, 2025 – Nation-building projects = $60BThese five nation-building projects include the following:
- Phase two of LNG (liquefied natural gas) Canada in Kitimat, B.C., doubling its production;
- Darlington New Nuclear Project in Clarington, Ontario to make small modular reactors;
- Contrecoeur Terminal Container Project to expand the Port of Montreal;
- McIlvenna Bay Foran Copper Mine Project in Saskatchewan; and
- Expansion of the Red Chris Mine in northwestern B.C.
"These five projects are just the beginning…and will generate more than $60 billion for the Canadian economy and create tens of thousands of high-paying careers for our workers," said the Prime Minister.
Exciting and impressive beginning, indeed!
Editor's note: Dr. Rey D. Pagtakhan, P.C., O.M., LL.D., Sc.D., M.D. M.Sc. is a retired lung specialist, professor of child health, and former MP, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister, and cabinet minister. He graduated from the University of the Philippines, did postgraduate training and studies at the Children’s Hospitals of Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, and spent a sabbatical year as Visiting Professor at the University of Arizona Medical Center. He is the author of articles and chapters in medical journals and textbooks and columnist for community newsmagazines. Widely lectured in Canada and abroad, he spoke in June 2003 on “The Global Threat of New Infectious Diseases” at the G-8 Science Ministers/Advisors Carnegie Group Meeting in Berlin. He volunteers on the Advisory Council of Immigration Partnership Winnipeg and the Board of St. Paul’s College Foundation at the University of Manitoba.
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