Calgary Chamber of Commerce echoes Ottawa’s message of tapping Canada’s economic potential

Trudeau is in Europe, selling Canada as a good place to invest, and Calgary's business community is all for it.

Justin Trudeau is in Paris, attending an AI summit, but that’s not all he’s doing in Europe.

The prime minister is selling Canada to the world as a good place to invest.

He wants investment in Canada around the world and for Canada to be less reliant on the U.S. economy.

“We have all the building blocks for the future of the world’s economy,” Trudeau said.

Canada’s ambassador to France issued a warning about U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats of further tariffs and annexation.

“Now that we see that, unfortunately for now, at least, the U.S. administration is not as reliable as we thought, not respecting treaties as we thought, we need Europeans and Canadians to work very closely,” Stephane Dion said.

It’s a message echoed by the Calgary Chamber of Commerce.

It unveiled an 82-point public policy plan that looks at tapping into Canada’s economic potential, much of which the chamber believes has not been realized.

“It’s a live document. It has to be, and especially from a trade perspective,” said Deborah Yedlin, Calgary Chamber of Commerce president and CEO.

The plan highlights the need for businesses to set the economic agenda nationally.

The chamber has been surveying its members on government intervention in the economy.

It found 44 per cent of respondents believe there should be some government oversight.

Nearly 20 per cent say it should be minimal.

The chamber is urging the federal government to be fiscally responsible and remove red tape.

“The biggest challenge right now is how do governments and businesses (cut) through the noise to understand what that long game is and how can we be successful,” Yedlin said.

The plan focuses on trade, entrepreneurship, community well-being and competitiveness.

The chamber also says Canada needs to invest in resource projects to diversify investments.

“The tariffs will obviously increase the cost of what we sell into the United States. … Those smaller- and medium-sized manufacturers are going to have to look for other markets,” Yedlin said.

“Their cost of inputs is going to go up, and it’s not going to be very helpful.'

In the face of economic insecurity, Canadian leaders hope the European Union can help fill a void.

It’s the second-largest economy worldwide, but according to Global Affairs, only 57 per cent of Canadian companies are leveraging the trade agreement.