Diane Francis: Trump victory good news for Canadian economy
Donald Trump’s landslide victory has shaken Canadians and rattled the loonie, but on balance will be beneficial for the country, notably its natural resource sectors.
Trump has promised to impose tariffs on trading partners, but Canada’s biggest exports will spared for two reasons. First, the countries’ resource sectors are integrated as a result of cross-ownership and mutual supply chains that have been built over decades. So are their automotive industries. These binational oil and auto partnerships are the cornerstone of both economies.
More importantly, Canada is the biggest supplier of energy to the United States. Slapping tariffs on Canadian energy imports would only serve to increase the cost of living and cause harm to American industry. This is why president-elect Donald Trump will carve out exemptions for Canadian oil and gas, according to former U.S. commerce secretary Wilbur Ross.
Trump is placing energy as a priority. He has reconstituted his “drill baby drill” slogan and will execute this strategy throughout his second term. This will automatically increase the size and importance of Western Canada’s oilpatch.
It may also result in new pipelines getting built to transport Alberta oil into the U.S. President Joe Biden killed the Keystone XL pipeline on his first day in office. Trump will likely make a similar project a national priority. Alberta and Saskatchewan would reap a bonanza as a result.
Canada’s mining industry also stands to benefit. Canadian companies have made much progress in reducing emissions in the mining, refining and transmission of fossil fuels and are among the world’s leaders. As energy production increases, Canada’s economy will grow, too.
With such prospects, the question is: why has
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