# Opinion: Canada should aim for a more competitive and productive economy **By:** Contributed **Published:** 2026-09-04T10:00:33+0000 **Source:** [PNI Atlantic News](https://www.saltwire.com/nova-scotia/halifax/opinion-halifax/opinion-canada-should-aim-for-a-more-competitive-and-productive-economy) --- Traffic crosses the Gordie Howe International Bridge between Canada and the United States. Photo by Dan Janisse /Postmedia Washington and Ottawa have lately been more inclined to exchange blows than goods and services. After trade talks broke down over sensitive issues and retaliatory tariffs followed soon after, it is easy to think the days of free trade between Uncle Sam and Johnny Canuck are drawing to an unceremonious close. Tariffs raise prices, delay investment and make it harder for firms to plan. Business can cope with almost anything except uncertainty. While much has been written about how roughly 70 per cent of Canadian exports go to America and how hard the Carney government has been working to diversify trade, less has been said about how exposed Canada is to external trade disruption itself. Canada’s trade-to-GDP ratio was 63.51 per cent in 2025. In America, it was 25.2 per cent, largely because its domestic market allows more production and consumption to take place within its borders. That gap doesn’t mean trade is bad, but it does show that Canada’s own domestic market is smaller and weaker than it needs to be. In a world of trade barriers and geopolitical rivalries, heavy dependence on external demand leaves Canada noticeably exposed. That’s not to say that economic nationalism is in order. Rather, Canada should strive to become a more competitive and productive economy — one in which firms can sell, invest, hire and grow across the country as easily as possible. First, Canada must finish the job of creating true internal free trade. Provincial rules still obstruct the movement of workers, goods, services and investment. The International Monetary Fund estimates that fully removing non-geographic policy barriers to internal trade could raise Canada’s real GDP by nearly seven per cent in the long run. That is one of the largest pro-growth reforms available to Canada. Second, Ottawa should expose sheltered sectors to more competition. Foreign ownership and control restrictions remain significant in telecommunications and aviation. Canada’s banking framework has also tended to favor established domestic institutions and to make it harder for new competitors to enter and grow. The result is too often higher prices, less choice and less pressure on incumbent firms to improve. Third, Canada should reward investment broadly instead of trying to pick winners firm by firm. Ottawa has recently introduced temporary immediate expensing for some manufacturing and processing buildings. While welcome, it is too narrow and short term a measure. Canada should move toward permanent, full expensing for productive investment in machinery, equipment, software and technology. Pair it with firm deadlines for project approvals, and more private capital will have a reason to stay and build here. These reforms should help Canada diversify into higher-productivity industries. Alongside its resource strengths, Canada needs more firms that develop software, commercialize research, manufacture advanced products, and compete in fields such as life sciences, clean technology and digital services. Ottawa should still defend free trade in an era of protectionism. But a stronger Canada will be built by making the country itself a better place to start a firm, to build a project, to invest in new tools and to sell to customers from Halifax to Vancouver. The goal isn’t to become less open to the world but to ensure Canada is less vulnerable when the world becomes more insular. Mitch Sabbagh, Halifax Article, Coach, Wayfair: The best early Labour Day sales you can shop in Canada Save some money on big-ticket items this Labour Day These are the 3 best beauty products we tried this week. Here's why Beauty Buzz: The 3 best beauty products we tried this week from Hermes, Olaplex and Tower 28.