In last month’s Speech from the Throne it reiterated the often overstated point that the government of Prime Minister Mark Carney is going to “identify and catalyze projects of national significance.” Those projects, meant to connect the country, will also open Canada to new markets, and of course create new high paying jobs. The government will do this with speed, get the cooperation of everyone involved, while also consulting with everyone. There’s a lot of generalized platitudes, typical governmental optimism, and hoopla. But in the words of Austin Powers, what does it all mean, Basil? The short answer is pipelines, transmission lines, and mining.
Do we need more pipelines in Canada – yes. What provinces like Alberta want is more ways to get their inefficient tar sands oil to a port, while all four western provinces want more pipelines for shipping natural gas. Both are needed. However, the quickest place for pipelines to ship to does not mean it is the best place for Canadians.
For the oil sands oil, we need a way to domestically refine and sell that fuel in Canada. It makes no sense that Alberta sells oil to the United States, and eastern Canada refines imported oil from offshore sellers. Not having a connection between east and west leaves our domestic market at the mercy of outside forces for supply, and too reliant on the US as customers.
Natural gas is used across Canada and we have one of the largest supplies – but we should not be building pipelines to take this natural resource and sell out of the country. Building or expanding natural gas pipelines to tidewater means our natural resources will be sold abroad. It also means Canadians get to pay more for natural gas domestically. If demand is up and outside markets are willing to pay more for our resources, it makes those resources more expensive for Canadians.
Our electrical grid is connected across the country and with the US – but we need more redundancy. As electricity needs increase, capacity and redundancy for domestic use should be the priority. Having a backup line is never bad, especially with the changing climate we have. Those increased connections should stop at the Canada border. Our natural resources are of no interest to our American friends, so says their current government.
Mining is important, but again the question has to be asked: Are we increasing mining and other natural resource extraction just to sell the raw products to others, or are we going to refine and produce things with this material? We can extract nickel, cobalt, and other rare earth minerals for pennies and dimes, or we can sell finished projects for much more? That creates jobs too.
But, Prime Minister Carney – through King Charles III – said he wants big projects. Here are a few more suggestions which – against projects like Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s Highway 401 tunnel under Toronto – are practical. These are in no particular order.
A freeway across Canada – The Trans-Canada Highway is a patchwork of two-lane and four-lane highways across Canada. Highways are a provincial responsibility, but the federal government can throw some serious infrastructure funds to widen the narrow parts and upgrade the wider parts to a uniform standard. The longest narrow sections of the TCH are in Northern Ontario, where Highway 17 is mostly two-lanes from Kenora to Arnprior. There are some four lane areas in the few urban areas of the north, but otherwise it is two lanes and heavily trafficked.
Road programs in the 1930s dug our way out of the Depression, closing the remaining gaps and upgrading existing highways. A national freeway will improve road safety, and put us at the same level as most developed countries where they have at least one freeway from one side of the country to the other.
Reliable “sort of” “high-speed” rail where it makes sense – Forget the new Alto or VIA Fast trains. Lets have some trains that run on time, are reliable, and stop at more places first. You have to walk before you run, and crawl before you walk. Canada had a wide passenger and freight rail network for decades until population and economic changes prompted mass abandonment of lines. We still have many lines active, and rail service between many urban areas – but it frankly sucks.
A passenger train from Ottawa to Toronto can take up to six hours. Trains from Toronto to Montreal can take up to six hours. The standard for non-stop service in the 1980s was three hours and 59 minutes between those two cities. Adding two hours of delays is nonsense.
Another nonsense is that there is no passenger rail service between Calgary (1.4 million people) and Edmonton (1.1 million people.) There are many cities in the world this far apart (290 km) that have forms of rail or high-speed rail – it is not in Canada. Where it makes sense, rail should be upgraded or brought back into service. Getting from Calgary to Edmonton in under two hours, or from Toronto to Montreal in under four is very achievable with current technology, and without high-speed rail schemes.
End the Infrastructure Deficit – Depending on what think tank you look at, Canada has an infrastructure deficit of between $150 billion and $1 trillion. That’s antiquated roads, sewers, waterlines, treatment plants, and all the other unsexy things that make communities livable. Much of that deficit falls to municipal governments to handle. A wholesale upgrade of sewer lines in Vancouver, or burying power lines in Morrisburg, won’t grab big headlines alone, but as part of a focused effort to fix infrastructure, they would.
Are building four-lane highways, fixing passenger service, and replacing sewer pipe the great projects to “catalyze” Canada’s future? Yes. Easier transportation of goods to domestic markets, reliable transportation, and improved basic infrastructure will make life easier again. And if things are fixed up, it’s easier to look ahead to the future.
This column was originally published in the June 11, 2025 print edition of the Morrisburg Leader.
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