I would say that there is definitely more uncertainty in Canada along the trade file—as it pertains to Canada-U.S. trade, I should specify—than there was a year ago. We have even more tariffs on us now than just the section 232 tariffs, and on January 1 we are looking at a potential 50% tariff on autos, which would be catastrophic for the auto sector.
However, Canada is making some significant moves to try to attract more foreign direct investment and to demonstrate that in this new era of uncertainty for every single sector that touches trade with the United States, Canada is trying to send a message of being a safe harbour and a secure investment. When you have the entire world looking for places to put their capital, Canada is starting to look like a place where it makes a lot of sense to begin developing the large-scale production of things, like mining infrastructure and other extractives infrastructure.
Canada has a very strong advantage in that the rocks—or the oil, as it were—lie where they lie. Therefore, it is incumbent upon Canada to try to speed up, as much as possible, these major infrastructure projects that will make use of our natural endowment of minerals and metals, and to start to build the domestic economy in a way that can provide Canadians with more certainty.
