Trade in agriculture, energy & critical minerals focus of roundtable
Stephany Laverty | November 2025
Download WHAT WE HEARD: THE ROAD TO DEPENDABILITY
Western Canada has the resources and ambition to be a dependable supplier to the world, but gaps in infrastructure, regulation and alignment hold it back.
Earlier this year, Canada West Foundation’s James A. Richardson Discovery Roundtable gathered leaders from across Western Canada to identify pathways for diversifying trade, improving infrastructure and elevating the region’s role in both national and international economic spheres. Central to this discussion were recurring themes around infrastructure inadequacy, regulatory inefficiencies, overreliance on U.S. trade and the need for political and institutional alignment across regions.
To reflect both the conversation in the room and the work that followed, we prepared two companion pieces:
- What we heard – The Road to Dependability: Enhancing Western Canada’s role as a reliable trade partner
- The Road to Dependability: A contextual analysis of Western Canada’s role as a reliable trade partner.
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What we heard The Road to Dependability: Enhancing Western Canada’s role as a reliable trade partner Read What We Heard |
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The Road to Dependability: A contextual analysis of Western Canada’s role as a reliable trade partner Read the report |
Participants recognized a limited window of opportunity exists to attract national support to make Western Canada a dependable supplier of essential resources the world needs with talk focusing on three – critical minerals, agriculture and energy. There was general agreement that to make progress, tangible actions will be needed to provide:
- Trade-enabling infrastructure
- Clarity on project funding and finance
- Workable regulatory processes developed with stakeholders
- Credible approaches to environmental risk
- Meaningful economic participation by Indigenous communities
Together, these reports are designed to help decision-makers move from recognition to action. They highlight where targeted investments and reforms in infrastructure, regulation, financing, environmental risk and Indigenous participation can have the greatest impact, and provide a practical basis for briefing cabinets, boards and partners on next steps to make Western Canada a dependable supplier of critical minerals, agriculture and energy.
For more information contact:
Stephany Laverty, Senior Policy Analyst