Five Key Sectors Hold Back Canada's Economic Potential

In advancing economic resilience, Canada faces significant challenges in five key sectors that have the potential to reshape the country’s economy for the better, according to a new report from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and PwC Canada.

The report identifies that while Canada boasts substantial advantages in these sectors, critical links in the value chains remain underdeveloped. For instance, in critical minerals, Canada has exceptional geological resources, but only a few projects are positioned to move quickly. Significant new production can take 10 to 15 years, and much of the processing capacity needed to transform minerals into strategic inputs exists elsewhere. While work is underway to improve this, the transition needs to be durable and trusted to be effective.

In artificial intelligence, Canada was an early global leader in research and talent, but struggles to turn this head start into globally scaled Canadian companies. The report points to gaps in growth-stage financing and commercialization, while identifying quantum technology as another major opportunity to convert Canadian research leadership into commercial leadership.

Energy is another sector where Canada has significant advantages, but approximately 85% of Canadian energy exports go to the United States. This underscores the importance of infrastructure and access to additional markets to change the north-south equation and position Canada as a real energy superpower.

Defence spending in Canada is expanding, but without procurement reform and deliberate development of domestic capabilities, the report warns that higher spending could accelerate foreign purchases while leaving Canadian companies as subcontractors rather than owners of system-level intellectual property and export opportunities.

In agri-food, Canada is a global agricultural powerhouse, but the next opportunity lies in capturing more value through processing, ingredients, technology, and reliable infrastructure connecting Canadian production with customers around the world. If this is not achieved, the rhetoric to date will not match the reality of what Canada can deliver.

The report draws on PwC research and economic analysis alongside conversations with 20 Canadian CEOs and business leaders. Candace Laing, President and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, emphasized that competitiveness determines whether the next company gets built here, whether the next dollar of investment comes here, and whether the next generation can find opportunity here.

The report calls for faster regulatory and permitting processes, greater access to growth and project capital, expanded infrastructure, specialized skills, stronger commercialization pathways, and better coordination across governments and industry. It stresses that all of this depends on securing the missing elements in each sector. An AI breakthrough needs capital, seed customers, and a path to scale. A mineral deposit needs local infrastructure and processing capacity. Defence spending needs a Canadian ecosystem behind it. Agri-food and energy need new processing infrastructure to be built rather than in a plan that starts after 2030.

According to the report, Canada begins with significant advantages that are well-known but should not be taken for granted. Its natural resources, energy, and agricultural capacity are matched by strong institutions, world-class research, and a highly educated workforce. Canadian companies also operate from a country with preferential trade access to 51 countries and a diverse, multilingual population with connections to markets around the world.

However, these advantages have not driven investment to the sustained levels needed. The report suggests that it will require faster regulatory and permitting processes, greater access to growth and project capital, expanded infrastructure, specialized skills, stronger commercialization pathways, and better coordination across governments and industry.

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce, representing over 400 chambers of commerce and boards of trade and more than 200,000 businesses, is working to create the conditions for collective success. PwC Canada, with more than 6,500 partners and staff in offices across the country, helps clients build trust and reinvent to turn complexity into competitive advantage.