TC Energy CEO Calls for Risk-Taking Overhaul Among Canada's Business, Political Leaders

By Paul Vieira

OTTAWA--Canada's political and business leaders need a new risk-taking mindset to build an economy capable of thriving amid geopolitical and trade-protectionist risks, says the head of TC Energy.

Chief Executive François Poirier said Prime Minister Mark Carney has taken some promising initial steps to accelerate the construction of new trade corridors and resource projects to help Canada reduce its dependence on U.S. trade to drive growth. "This is a good start, but the country still needs more," said Poirier, according to remarks prepared for delivery Tuesday at an Ottawa luncheon.

He cited the potential from expanding Canada's export capacity for liquefied natural gas. At present, Canada could become the No. 5 global supplier should projects under consideration get built.

Being satisfied with a No. 5 placing "sounds great but its true potential is to be the No. 1 exporter to Asia, and the country is behaving as if being good is good enough," Poirier said.

The current Canadian mindset, he said, is akin to the country's men's and women's hockey teams going to the Olympics to aim for a bronze medal. That needs an overhaul, he added.

At the onset of the war in Ukraine, developed economies like Germany reached out to Canada to secure LNG supplies to wean reliance on Russia. But at that time, former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there was a weak business case for exports to Europe. The Carney government has shifted course in a dramatic manner, one of several policy pivots since Trudeau's departure.

Poirier said Canada still has much work to do in attracting foreign investment into the country, arguing that "for too long, capital hasn't felt welcomed here." Carney's first year in power has been marked by frequent trips abroad, trying to drum up foreign investment interest in Canada and steps the government is taking to streamline regulations.

Besides Poirier, some senior Bank of Canada policymakers have also lamented the country's complacent policy approach on competition and risk aversion among business leaders.

The central bank's No. 2 official, Carolyn Rogers, said last year that corporate executives can't wait for uncertainty to die down before making investment decisions. "Don't hold your breath and hide under a table," said Rogers, about the need for businesses to invest to counter President Trump's trade policy. "If we don't figure out how to offset that structural change with a positive structural change, we are on a permanently lower [growth] path-which is not what we want."

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

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