Canadian Chamber Addresses Senate Committee on Budget 2025 Implementation

On December 9, 2025, our Senior Director of Natural Resources, Environment and Sustainability, Bryan Detchou, and Senior Director of Manufacturing and Value Chains, Alex Greco, appeared before the Senate Standing Committee on National Finance to provide the business community’s perspective on Budget 2025.

They emphasized that the Budget makes meaningful progress in strengthening Canada’s strategic economic and industrial capacity — from critical minerals and clean energy to advances in AI, defence, and LNG’s role in global energy security. They also stressed the need to improve regulatory efficiency, accelerate project development, and ensure Canada is positioned to compete globally.

What matters next is implementation — and doing it quickly. To capture global opportunities and reinforce Canada’s economic security, governments must move with speed, coordination, and urgency.

The full remarks and appearance can be viewed below.

Mr. Chair and Honourable Senators,

Merci de nous avoir donné l’occasion de comparaître au nom de la Chambre de commerce du Canada, qui représente plus de 400 chambres de commerce et conseils d’affaires, ainsi que plus de 200 000 entreprises dans toutes les régions et tous les secteurs.

With 567 days between Budgets 2024 and 2025, this year’s Budget was highly anticipated. While framed by government as a historic and transformational document, we offer a more measured view: it takes meaningful steps in the right direction and lays a solid foundation for further progress.

For brevity, we will highlight two areas where the Budget advances Canada’s economic agenda, before turning to what is needed next.

Premièrement, le Budget de 2025 renforce la capacité économique et industrielle stratégique du Canada.
Il reconnaît l’importance d’accroître le rôle du Canada en tant que superpuissance énergétique et des ressources naturelles. Nous appuyons les investissements dans les minéraux critiques, l’énergie propre, l’intelligence artificielle, les ressources naturelles et la défense, des secteurs essentiels à la compétitivité à long terme ainsi qu’à la sécurité économique et nationale.

Initiatives such as sovereign AI compute capacity, the Critical Minerals Sovereign Fund, increased defence spending, and recognition of LNG’s important export role and decarbonization potential are all constructive.

Pour traduire ces engagements en résultats, le Canada doit moderniser les approvisionnements, accélérer l’adoption de l’IA et améliorer de façon significative la rapidité et la prévisibilité du développement de projets. Des échéanciers plus clairs, une coordination fédérale-provinciale renforcée et une fonction publique plus agile sont essentiels. La modernisation réglementaire doit également s’appliquer à tous les projets — grands et petits, désignés d’intérêt « national » ou non — avec des normes de service transparentes et une approche claire : un projet, une seule évaluation.

Second, the Budget advances Canada’s productivity, investment, and innovation agenda.

The Productivity Super Deduction is a meaningful tool to encourage investment in productivity-enhancing capital. Improvements to SR&ED, reduced administrative burden and improved refundability for smaller, research-intensive firms, are similarly positive. Added clarity on capital-gains taxation also supports better business planning and investment certainty.

Together, these measures are progress, though further modernization, particularly to support commercialization and scale-up, and to make both the Productivity Super Deduction and the Accelerated Investment Incentive permanent, will be critical.

We also welcome the amendment to the greenwashing provision in the Competition Act, which brings greater alignment with international practice and reduces unintended consequences for responsible companies.

Je cède maintenant la parole à mon collègue, Alex Greco, directeur principal, Fabrication et chaînes de valeur, qui présentera les prochaines étapes nécessaires.

Looking ahead, Canada now needs a long-term productivity, investment, and trade strategy to build on this Budget.

In response to U.S. industrial policy and the One Big Beautiful Bill, Canada should prioritize predictability, stability, and tax competitiveness — modernizing capital cost allowances and simplifying the system rather than layering on boutique measures.

Regulatory reform remains urgent: legislated competitiveness mandates, clearer service standards, predictable impact assessments, and stronger federal-provincial coordination are essential. Canada also needs a public service culture focused on timeliness, collaboration, and practical problem-solving.

On trade, Canada must strengthen North American competitiveness ahead of the 2026 CUSMA review by reducing non-tariff barriers, improving border efficiency, modernizing conformity assessments, and coordinating energy and critical-mineral supply chains. Ensuring SMEs can participate fully in continental trade will be key.

Senators, ultimately, the real test for Budget 2025 will be implementation—an area where Canada has struggled and cannot afford to fall behind again.

Timely execution of funding programs, regulatory reforms, and strategic initiatives will determine whether this Budget translates into higher productivity, stronger investment, and greater economic security.

Global competition is accelerating, and Canada does not have the luxury of time.

A whole-of-government approach, supported by a modern, delivery-focused public service, is essential. If implemented with urgency, Budget 2025 can position Canada for long-term success. If not, we risk falling further behind at a moment when Canada cannot afford to come up short. We look forward to working with Parliament, government, and partners across Canada to help deliver that future.

Thank you for your time today. We look forward to the questions and discussion