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I'm not sure that oil is Canada's only economic hard power, but it has to be our largest:
“To effectively use oil, Canada’s only economic hard power, Carney needs to get not just one, but two pipelines built,” said Adam Waterous, chief executive of Calgary’s Waterous Energy Fund, a major oil sands investor.
It's hard to imagine a more strategically important investment for Canada. Right now, virtually all of Canada's oil exports go to the US. That gives us zero leverage. We are price takers! To correct this, we need to diversify our customer base. And the only way we do that is by building pipelines to our coastlines and then selling to the rest of the world.
But beyond shoring up our economy, I'd argue that this is also the way we accelerate decarbonization. Here's the plan: We get rich, and then reinvest the profits into renewable energy, the world's largest sovereign wealth fund, and critical nation-building infrastructure like housing, transport, and education.
Oil and gas profits won't last forever. This is about building for that future.
Cover photo by Chris Liverani on Unsplash
This past week I listened to two podcasts in preparation for Canada's upcoming federal election. I listened to Prime Minister Mark Carney with Scott Galloway and I listened to Pierre Poilievre with Brian Lilley of the Toronto Sun. If any of you have any other recommendations for an interview that I should listen to, please share it in the comment section below.
Here's what I would say. Carney came across as more measured and less direct. But naturally very capable when it comes to understanding the economic implications of our shifting global order. He wasn't forceful when talking about oil and gas pipelines, but I understand that he fully supports them. This is critical to diversifying our trade and frankly gaining more market power.
I'm skeptical of government being able to act as any sort of big developer and/or stimulate a thriving prefab construction industry. The latter is being worked on by a lot of the private sector; what is needed are dramatically lower fees and less barriers to development. I was, however, comforted by the fact that Carney did seem to reduce government's role to an enabler for private enterprise.
Both are promising dramatic cuts to development charges, which is essential. Poilievre is promising to eliminate the federal sales tax on all new homes priced under $1.3 million, whereas Carney wants to do it for homes under $1 million and only for first-time buyers. Carney also focused a lot on increasing construction trade capacity as a way to dramatically increase overall supply.
Broadly, Poilievre was more focused on "axing the tax" and removing the barriers to developing new housing. As we have
I'm not sure that oil is Canada's only economic hard power, but it has to be our largest:
“To effectively use oil, Canada’s only economic hard power, Carney needs to get not just one, but two pipelines built,” said Adam Waterous, chief executive of Calgary’s Waterous Energy Fund, a major oil sands investor.
It's hard to imagine a more strategically important investment for Canada. Right now, virtually all of Canada's oil exports go to the US. That gives us zero leverage. We are price takers! To correct this, we need to diversify our customer base. And the only way we do that is by building pipelines to our coastlines and then selling to the rest of the world.
But beyond shoring up our economy, I'd argue that this is also the way we accelerate decarbonization. Here's the plan: We get rich, and then reinvest the profits into renewable energy, the world's largest sovereign wealth fund, and critical nation-building infrastructure like housing, transport, and education.
Oil and gas profits won't last forever. This is about building for that future.
Cover photo by Chris Liverani on Unsplash
This past week I listened to two podcasts in preparation for Canada's upcoming federal election. I listened to Prime Minister Mark Carney with Scott Galloway and I listened to Pierre Poilievre with Brian Lilley of the Toronto Sun. If any of you have any other recommendations for an interview that I should listen to, please share it in the comment section below.
Here's what I would say. Carney came across as more measured and less direct. But naturally very capable when it comes to understanding the economic implications of our shifting global order. He wasn't forceful when talking about oil and gas pipelines, but I understand that he fully supports them. This is critical to diversifying our trade and frankly gaining more market power.
I'm skeptical of government being able to act as any sort of big developer and/or stimulate a thriving prefab construction industry. The latter is being worked on by a lot of the private sector; what is needed are dramatically lower fees and less barriers to development. I was, however, comforted by the fact that Carney did seem to reduce government's role to an enabler for private enterprise.
Both are promising dramatic cuts to development charges, which is essential. Poilievre is promising to eliminate the federal sales tax on all new homes priced under $1.3 million, whereas Carney wants to do it for homes under $1 million and only for first-time buyers. Carney also focused a lot on increasing construction trade capacity as a way to dramatically increase overall supply.
Broadly, Poilievre was more focused on "axing the tax" and removing the barriers to developing new housing. As we have
That said, Poilievre did make a specific comment that I didn't care for. He was talking about family formation and housing affordability and he said, "how can you start a family without a backyard and driveway?" He went on to say that, "people want detached single-family houses." Now, there's some statistical truth to this claim, but it's not like it's enshrined in our DNA.
It's an anti-urban statement. There are lots of cities around the world where kids are raised, just fine, without a backyard and/or driveway. They walk to school, they play in wonderful city parks, and they generally enjoy a high quality of life in an urban environment. I'm not suggesting that this has to be for everyone, but I do believe in removing our cultural biases and letting the market ultimately decide.
This is a pivotal moment for Canada. Regardless of who is successful on April 28, the status quo cannot continue. We must become a global superpower. And when it comes to housing, I would encourage whoever wins to give me a call after the election. Prime Minister: I'll walk you through a development pro forma and explain what it will take to make housing more affordable, and get lots of it built.
Cover photo by Hermes Rivera on Unsplash
That said, Poilievre did make a specific comment that I didn't care for. He was talking about family formation and housing affordability and he said, "how can you start a family without a backyard and driveway?" He went on to say that, "people want detached single-family houses." Now, there's some statistical truth to this claim, but it's not like it's enshrined in our DNA.
It's an anti-urban statement. There are lots of cities around the world where kids are raised, just fine, without a backyard and/or driveway. They walk to school, they play in wonderful city parks, and they generally enjoy a high quality of life in an urban environment. I'm not suggesting that this has to be for everyone, but I do believe in removing our cultural biases and letting the market ultimately decide.
This is a pivotal moment for Canada. Regardless of who is successful on April 28, the status quo cannot continue. We must become a global superpower. And when it comes to housing, I would encourage whoever wins to give me a call after the election. Prime Minister: I'll walk you through a development pro forma and explain what it will take to make housing more affordable, and get lots of it built.
Cover photo by Hermes Rivera on Unsplash
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