Carney’s new nation-building plan lacks a vision for our social, educational and health needs

When the First Ministers met in Saskatoon it seemed the prime minister and premiers were enthusiastic about a new approach to nation building, one less reliant on the U.S. 

Case in point, they agreed to reimagine our energy self-sufficiency and take on major new housing initiatives. Mark Carney appeared intent on an urgent Team Canada response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs and threats to take over Canada.

This call to reimagine the Canadian economy and do it quickly is creating an exciting buzz in Canada, one that hasn’t been felt for a long time. We’re promised it will take years, not decades, to develop and finalize investments for new supply chains and so much more.

But one big important question remains. What kind of nation will we build?

Our conversation has to be about more than the mechanics of nation building and “what do we do about Trump.”

While Canadians are eager to embrace big changes, the vision offered by the new government and premiers is blinkered, leaning heavily on a massive increase in defence spending, more pipelines, a higher rate of resource exploitation and dismantling protective provincial regulations. 

While there’s a promise to develop ideas for a national housing project, there is no focus and certainly no vision for attending to our social, educational and health needs.   

Clearly export markets must change direction to limit ruin in the industries Trump is determined to destroy. Exports account for 30 per cent of Canada’s $3 trillion economy and almost 80 per cent of Canada’s merchandise trade currently goes to the U.S.

But we need to do more than save our exports. We need to be clear about why we want to save Canada.   

Canada’s approach to supporting people and our shared interests is decidedly distinct from the American approach. It could even be called visionary. Our investments in social medicine, relatively progressive labour relations, public ownership of major utilities like water and electricity and social policies, like generous parental leave and child care supports, both reflect and reinforce our Canadian identity. They are things only dreamed of in the U.S.

The focus on exports misses this critical point, one that actually builds public support for a renewed vision for the Canadian economy. A new vision has to address the shared needs of people in this country and the kind of improvements we were concerned about — long before Trump.

We all need good work, housing, education, health care, child care, clean water, safe food and environmental protection. These must be central to our idea of a transformed Canada. All require immediate government attention. They can’t be relegated to the background, in deference to corporate demands for a wide-open economy where regulations and taxes don’t hold things back. 

Although exports are important for Canada, only 2.6 million people of the 21 million people employed actually work in the trade-exposed sectors like energy, resources and manufacturing. Eighty per cent of the workforce have jobs in services. And among those — accounting for fully 20 per cent of all jobs and for 34 per cent of all jobs held by women — the care economy is key: health and social assistance services and education services.

Our economic rethinking must extend to developing new guardrails on business entry into the care economy. While the care economy is a largely a made-in-Canada proposition and not open for trade, it is increasingly open to private for-profit investment.

U.S. investors could easily turn Canada into the 51st state wrapped in a Canadian flag, undermining our most cherished sector and turning it into just another way to turn a profit and ship dividends out of the country. One of our great accomplishments as a country has been the reduced inequities that come with increased public investments in care.

Donald Trump has challenged Canada to produce a new vision for itself. It must be based on more than addressing corporate needs. It must be based on our shared needs and values.

Pat Armstrong, Marjorie Griffin Cohen, Laurell Ritchie and Armine Yalnizyan are members of the Care Economy Team (TheCareEconomy.ca).

This commentary was first published by The Toronto Star on June 5, 2025.