Canada Is Rich in Resources. Why Are We Making It So Difficult to Prosper?

Canada is one of the most resource-rich countries in the world. We have oil and gas, hydroelectric power, uranium, potash, timber, critical minerals, productive farmland, fresh water and the skilled people needed to develop them.

Yet we continue to make it unnecessarily difficult to build, process, transport and export what we have.

We should be asking why we aren't doing more with the resources sitting beneath our feet

Pipelines face lengthy approval processes. Mines can take decades to move from discovery to production. Energy projects face uncertainty, while manufacturers struggle with rising operating costs, taxes, regulations and competition from countries with very different operating conditions.

Then we wonder why investment, jobs and manufacturing opportunities go elsewhere.

Canada should not have to choose between responsible resource development and economic growth. We can protect the environment, respect Indigenous rights, maintain strong labour and safety standards and still build major projects.

These objectives should work together, not constantly compete with one another

One of our greatest missed opportunities is the economic value we could create by processing more of our own resources.

We export enormous quantities of raw materials while importing finished products that could, in some cases, be manufactured here. Every opportunity we miss to process those materials domestically is a potential loss of Canadian jobs, investment and manufacturing capacity.

For a country that talks endlessly about clean energy, food security, critical minerals, housing and supply-chain resilience, we should be asking why we aren't doing more with the resources sitting beneath our feet.

We cannot borrow our way to prosperity while allowing productive investment opportunities to disappear through years of uncertainty and bureaucracy

Consider potash. Canada supplied nearly 39% of global potash exports in 2024. We have an extraordinary natural advantage, but we need to ensure that our resource wealth translates into lasting economic benefits for Canadians.

Now Ottawa is seeking private investment through long-term concessions to operate our four largest airports, while retaining public ownership of the land and assets.

There may be legitimate reasons to attract private capital into airport infrastructure. But it raises a broader question: why are we working so hard to unlock the value of infrastructure we have already built while making it so difficult for private investors to develop new mines, energy projects, processing facilities and manufacturing operations?

Why not apply that same enthusiasm for attracting investment to the industries that produce the goods we sell to the world?

This is not an argument against international trade, foreign investment or environmental protection. It is about creating the conditions for Canadian businesses to compete, Canadian workers to prosper and Canadian resources to generate greater economic value here at home.

We cannot borrow our way to prosperity while allowing productive investment opportunities to disappear through years of uncertainty and bureaucracy.

We have the resources. We have the talent. We have access to international markets.

What we need is a more predictable investment environment, competitive operating costs, timely approvals and a long-term commitment to developing the industries that generate our wealth.

Canada is not running out of resources. The question is whether we are prepared to make better use of them.

Scott Hughes is the President at Hupaco Wood Products based in Ajax, Ontario