Strengthening Canada’s trade infrastructure: Perspectives from industry leaders
Canada is facing a defining nation-building moment in trade infrastructure. While the U.S. remains Canada’s main trade partner, there’s a growing need to expand trade to other countries, including in Europe and Asia.
In a CPCS-hosted panel discussion moderated by Co-CEO Marc-Andre Roy, four industry leaders stressed that Canada needs to make bold investments, foster smarter collaboration, modernize existing assets, and build resilience for the long term.
Industry experts:
- Daniel-Robert Gooch, President and CEO, Association of Canadian Port Authorities
- John Corey, President, Freight Management Association of Canada
- Ryan Greer, Senior Vice President – Public Affairs and National Policy, Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters
- Derek Stanger, CPCS Senior Director, Freight Rail
Key points:
- Diversify now: Canada’s trade infrastructure is heavily US-focused, so expanding capacity to support trade with Europe and Asia is critical.
- Modernize existing infrastructure: Upgrading ports, railways, and underused assets like the St. Lawrence Seaway is faster, cheaper, and lower risk than building new trade enabling corridors and infrastructure.
- Build resilience: Reliable infrastructure is central to nation-building and essential for manufacturers and shippers to withstand disruptions.
- Collaborate to compete: Shippers (i.e. cargo owners), port authorities, railways, Indigenous groups, governments and other trade actors must align on priorities, have ongoing dialogue.
- Bill C-5 is a start: The Building Canada Act lays the groundwork, but long-term impact depends on sustained, systemic change.
Canada needs to pursue trade diversification
As illustrated in the graph below, Canada conducts most of its trade with the U.S. Much of Canada’s trade and transport infrastructure was designed to facilitate this trade.
Canada’s ongoing challenge is determining how to grow exports to other countries, especially in Europe and Asia. Trade policy, industrial strategy, and effective transportation infrastructure are all necessary to support the competitiveness of moving exports.
The two maps below illustrate the large volume of cargo handled by critical marine and air gateways for non-U.S. trade. The Port of Vancouver dominates on the maritime side, while Vancouver and Toronto are the two major airports for international trade.
These gateways are all tied to a longer transportation chain including rail and road. The effectiveness, resilience and reliability of this transportation infrastructure is critical to ensure the goods can be exported quickly and consistently to remain competitive.
How do the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters see the federal push to enhance trade-enabling infrastructure?
“The Building Canada Act is an important first step,” says Ryan Greer, Senior Vice President of Public Affairs and National Policy at Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters. For manufacturers, trade and transportation infrastructure is a key policy lever that enables improved productivity, cost-efficiency, and reliability.
However, as most infrastructure supports north-south trade with the US, diversifying trade will require long-term investments and coordinated policy actions. Federal initiatives like the Building Canada Act and the National Trade Corridor Fund play a vital role in incentivizing provincial and private sector investment, identifying priority projects, and enhancing Canada’s global trade competitiveness.
Daniel-Robert Gooch, President and CEO of the Association of Canadian Port Authorities, highlights the importance of “treating ports as nation-building assets that strengthen trade diversification.” Ports play a crucial role since most goods diverted from the U.S. to overseas markets travel by sea.
According to a 2025 Scotiabank Economics analysis, “for every 10% share of trade currently redirected from the U.S. to other markets, the share of goods leaving Canada via ports increases by 5% and via airports by 3%, while road, rail, and pipeline crossings decline by 8%.” Gooch emphasizes that “this underscores the urgency of advancing port infrastructure projects.”
While the Building Canada Act is a promising start, ongoing momentum is needed to fully modernize and strengthen Canada’s trade infrastructure. “Whatever process is created, it has to be enduring through an election cycle, with a consistent, sustained push and a clear vision. And so, I think the program is commendable as a first start and as a journey,” says Stanger.
The consensus: this is the beginning of a journey, not a quick fix.
What needs and opportunities can Bill C-5 unlock?
While it can be exciting to think about building new infrastructure, John Corey, President of the Freight Management Association of Canada, emphasizes “the first thing we need to do is maximize the assets that we currently have.”
Optimizing existing infrastructure can often be implemented faster, more cost effectively, and with considerably lower risk. Ports and rail remain top concerns. Corey stresses that “all ports need to be developed, because if we’re going to go if we are going to go east-west, it’s going out through the ports.”
Private investment will be critical to make these projects a reality. “We need to make sure the conditions correct for outside investment to come in and make those projects. The government can’t spend all the money to do all these things. We need to have outside money coming in. And to do that, it has to be a reasonable amount of time to get a return on your investment,” says Corey.
More opportunities to optimize Canada’s infrastructure systems can be unlocked by consulting directly with stakeholders and rightsholders. According to Stanger, a CPCS senior rail advisor, moving beyond current infrastructure starts with “government helping with a clear vision and a plan, coalescing key stakeholders, and allowing private sector municipalities and cities and provinces to make the project selections.” There’s an opportunity to implement programs addressing important issues, such as rail grade crossing safety, or increasing the percentage of double tracks through the heart of a rail network to create resiliency.
The consensus: it’s essential to optimize existing assets, modernize processes, create conditions for private capital, and unlock opportunities in collaboration with stakeholders and rightsholders.
Where does resilience fit into the nation-building agenda?
Resilience is “critical and it’s expensive,” says Stanger.
Maintaining latent capacity ensures rail systems can recover faster and more smoothly when disruptions hit. For rail, resilience means scale, scalability, optionality, redundancy, safety, and efficiency, which are all essential to keep goods moving when traffic surges or delays occur. “Resilience allows for faster recoverability,” Stanger adds.
“Whether you’re a shipper or a manufacturer, you understand how important resilience is to your customer,” says Greer. “In many ways, it dials back to how much friction do regulators and governments put in the way of the private sector making those investments in resilience.” Regulatory friction often slows private investment, which creates barriers and causes delays in adapting to challenges. The private sector needs the opportunity to act, especially in urgent situations, such as damage caused by natural disasters, without waiting extended periods for government approvals.
Labour instability can also undermine reliability. “You could have all the right infrastructure in the right place, but if it’s not moving because of labour disruptions, we have a lack of resilience in another way,” says Greer. Labour is a critical asset in any supply chain, so a framework may be essential to ensure disputes are resolved promptly and effectively.
The consensus: resilience is essential to maintain the speed, flexibility, and policy alignment needed to keep Canada’s economy moving.
Views on Canada’s new Major Projects Office
Canada’s Major Projects Office must streamline approvals and avoid becoming “just another layer of bureaucracy,” according to Corey. “What we’re hoping for is a central location where decisions can actually be made.” The Major Projects Office can reduce the fragmentation that occurs when decision-making is spread across government departments. Gooch notes that “we’ve seen in the past fragmented reviews can delay projects for years.”
The consensus: Canada needs a central decision-making hub, harmonized regulations, and faster timelines to keep goods moving.
How can stakeholders and rightsholders work together effectively with the government to advance and support the advancement of Canada’s trade diversification goals?
Collaboration will be key to Canada’s success in trade diversification and infrastructure planning. “I think it is finding areas of common interest and shared advocacy around decision-makers,” says Greer.
With “a million different people in town advocating for a million different things all the time,” governments can pick and choose priorities from what they’re hearing unless industry speaks with one voice. Greer believes partners and stakeholders need to be aligned on “not just what they’re saying and who they’re saying it to, but the way that they’re saying it, so that there’s absolutely no confusion on the other end about what we would all like to see … in the interest of Canadians and communities and families.”
There are plenty of structured engagement models to replicate. “The Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor Initiative really brought people together,” notes CPCS’s Co-CEO and Managing, Marc-André Roy. Stanger adds that “It became a roadmap. There was a vision that was created amongst the stakeholders that everyone could kind of wrap their heads around.” The Greater Transportation Collaboration Forum also implemented a successful stakeholder engagement model. A senior-level steering committee and several working groups that met regularly to discuss issues and coalesce a vision and a plan.
The consensus: Canada’s trade diversification depends on a unified vision and sustained collaboration to turn shared priorities into action.
The Arctic’s place in nation-building conversations
Canada’s North holds untapped potential for trade but unlocking it will require major public investment and long-term planning. “There’s a lot of opportunity in the Arctic,” says Greer. “But the private sector cost and ROI [return on investment] to invest and build during a short season with low demand obviously is not there.” He argues the solution is increased and sustained public investment in partnership with the private sector.
The region is also of strategic importance beyond trade. “There is a national sovereignty component to how we use our North,” says Greer. Improving access for northern communities is also essential, as “Canadians who live in the North have severely challenged access to goods and food products, making living there a challenge.”
The consensus: Arctic development must be viewed through a wider lens that includes defense, security, and sovereignty, not just resource extraction and shipping.
What’s the role of inland ports in Canada’s trade strategy?
Inland ports are becoming a critical piece of Canada’s supply chain, offering a way to boost capacity and resilience without costly coastal expansion. “They’re a very important piece of the ecosystem,” says Stanger. “Inland terminals can handle imports and exports, transloading from rail to truck, and connect goods to distribution centers and retailers.”
With land at a premium in port environments, shifting capacity inland is gaining traction. Stanger raises the question, “space is limited and expensive to develop at ports, so can you shift capacity inland?” This approach would create more capacity and alleviate costly port footprints.
The consensus: Inland ports complement existing rail networks and offer shippers more resilience, more capacity, and more options for moving goods efficiently.
Maintaining nation-building momentum
The urgency is clear. Federal efforts to deepen trade relationships with China, Germany, and Mexico have been a critical first step, but the challenge is sustaining momentum. “Everyone can start something, but it’s very hard to finish it. We need to keep the momentum going, and we need to start following through,” says Corey
The consensus: Canada needs an overarching vision, a clear roadmap, and a commitment to “walk the walk.” Trade diversification won’t happen immediately, but it starts with alignment today.
Continuing the conversation:
- Replay the full trade infrastructure webinar
- CPCS’s Major Projects expertise
- To keep the conversation going, contact communications@cpcs.ca
