The tectonic plates of our global economy are shifting in ways we haven’t seen since the 1930s. Trade wars between allies, concerns over energy and Arctic security, and an AI revolution that is picking up speed are a few of many factors reshaping the world economic order.
We’re in a pivotal moment for Canada, where securing our economic sovereignty and security has never been more important.
With a newly elected government, our country needs to move forward with a renewed commitment to uniting behind a new, long-term economic agenda—one that boosts competitiveness and drives shared prosperity that will last generations.
From coast-to-coast-to-coast, there’s a consensus building that Canada needs to seize the moment and work together to build a more resilient, self-reliant, and sustainable economy. I believe advancing Indigenous partnership and economic reconciliation is at the heart of making this ambition a reality.
This is a message that I echoed at this year’s First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference alongside many key advocates who spoke about the imperative to generate and attract more capital to major projects, with Indigenous nations and communities as partners.
Ensuring Indigenous equity and participation continues to be a key competitive advantage and will require access to more capital, a greater focus on capacity building, and a common understanding of consent.
Photo Credit: RBC
Recent RBC research indicates that across 504 major resource and energy projects planned or underway in Canada, 73 percent run through, or are nearby, Indigenous territories.
The value of the Indigenous equity opportunity over the next 10 years from these projects is almost $98 billion—making it clear that economic reconciliation and partnership are central to our ability to grow the Canadian economy.
The path to help advance Indigenous partnership and equity opportunities
In my seat, I have the privilege of travelling the world and talking to some of the biggest global investors. I hear common themes from every conversation. There is a significant amount of capital circulating, and with so much global uncertainty, it’s looking for safe and sustainable havens. Canada can be that destination with an estimated $380 billion capital gap in our energy, infrastructure, and critical minerals sectors alone.
We need to continue to derisk our projects to attract and retain that capital, and one of the best ways to do that is to ensure local communities are directly invested in the projects themselves. Loan guarantees are a good start, as are other concessional capital tools.
Investing in capacity can also act as an anchor for major projects. Rights-based negotiations, along with commercial and legal discussions around major project development, are complex and require investing in capacity for everyone at the table to ensure project success.
Capacity gaps can put projects at risk, so strengthening knowledge sharing is important. Our research estimates that roughly 85 percent of Indigenous equity opportunities may remain unrealized if capacity gaps are not filled.
We also know that consent is foundational to project development. It’s one of the biggest challenges, and it continues to evolve. We need to continue to work together to build common understandings of what consent means and how it can be measured and expressed. The more clarity we can build, the stronger we will be. This starts with relationship-building and trust, which needs to happen before project-based discussions.
After focusing on the three critical factors of capital, capacity, and consent, finding ways to foster and build partnerships to ensure their success is critically important.
Seizing the opportunity for all of Canada
My belief is that long-term Indigenous prosperity is at the heart of a growing economy and thriving society for Canada. The ambitions across the country to build up our economic and security infrastructure cannot be realized without Indigenous partnerships and development opportunities.
We need to get Canada building at speed and scale, but our ability to move fast depends on our ability to move collectively and responsibly.
The changing world around us brings unprecedented opportunity to build a better and more prosperous future, and with greater ambition.
The world wants what Canada can provide in great abundance. Canada can feed and fuel the growing world and be a leader in sectors like energy, agriculture, critical minerals, advanced manufacturing, and technology.
To do this, we need to build a more resilient economy that leverages our strengths, better prioritizes Indigenous partnership and reconciliation, and adapts quickly to the shifting world around us.
This is in the interest of every Canadian and supports our ambitions to create a thriving, more prosperous society.
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