As Canada emerges from years of economic stagnation and grapples with a growing trade war with the United States, business leaders see this turbulent moment as a rare and urgent opportunity to reshape the country’s economic future, writes CBC’s economics reporter Peter Armstrong.

Regardless of which party wins the upcoming federal election, the next prime minister will face mounting pressure to act quickly and decisively. In interviews and public statements, CEOs and industry experts have outlined four clear priorities that they say must guide Canada’s recovery:

1. Speed up the approvals process for natural resources projects

Energy leaders stress that Canada must capitalize on its current "time-bound opportunity" to enhance economic sovereignty through energy exports.

"Canada has a time-bound opportunity to strengthen our economic sovereignty, build our economy and re-establish our global position," said François Poirier, CEO of TC Energy.

An open letter from energy CEOs urges overhauling, not scrapping, current legislation like the Impact Assessment Act and the West Coast tanker ban: "Regulatory processes need to be streamlined, and decisions need to withstand judicial challenges," the letter states.

Both major parties support speeding up approvals: the Conservatives propose a “national energy corridor” and rapid approvals office; the Liberals promise a federal office to make decisions within two years.

2. Remove longstanding interprovincial trade barriers

Experts and industry leaders argue internal trade restrictions, such as differing standards and licenses, are stifling business across provinces.

"It's easy because it should be the first thing [the new prime minister does]. It's dumb because it shouldn't exist in the first place," said Richard Dias, macro strategist at IceCap Asset Management.

Research suggests major gains:

Removing all such barriers could boost GDP per capita by 3.8%.
In smaller provinces like P.E.I., real GDP might grow by up to 16%.

The federal government recently reduced exceptions under the Canadian Free Trade Agreement from 39 to 19.

3. Manufacturing military equipment

Both the Liberals and Conservatives aim to meet NATO’s 2% of GDP defence spending target, with major implications for economic activity.

"One dollar of spending on defence in Canada will get you about two jobs and about two dollars in total direct, indirect and induced economic activity," said David Perry, president of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute.

Even foreign contracts generate domestic benefits through Canada’s Industrial Technological Benefits Policy, which mandates reinvestment into Canadian firms.

4. 'Think Canada': the AI advantage

Canada’s AI sector is already strong, but energy capacity is key to scaling.

"There's a real limit on energy... My answer, by the way, is think Canada, right? Nice people, full of hydroelectric power," said former Google CEO Eric Schmidt.

Canadian AI pioneers Geoffrey Hinton and Yoshua Bengio are already global leaders.

The Liberals want to expand last year’s $2.4B investment in AI infrastructure. The Conservatives plan to scale back AI investment by nearly $2.3B, though still claim they’ll "unleash hundreds of billions" in sectors including data centres.