Prabha Ramaswamy, CEO, Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce

Around the world, governments are trying to secure reliable access to food, energy and critical minerals. Canada is one the few that can supply all three at scale.

I don’t think this is something we talk about enough.

Western Canada sits at the center of this advantage. Oil, potash, uranium and agricultural exports are regional strengths, yes, but they also help drive jobs, supply chains and revenue from coast to coast to coast.

The opportunity in front of us is not simply to defend market access when it’s challenged, but also to use what we already have more deliberately, and turn this into long-term growth. That means diversifying trade, investing in how we get our products to market and making sure governments are moving in the same direction.

Saskatchewan is a good example of what this looks like in practice. Our potash fertilizes crops around the world, our uranium powers electricity grids and our canola, lentils, peas and grains help feed growing populations. These are not small contributions and they certainly don’t stop at provincial borders, and this doesn’t take away from the importance of the United States. That relationship is foundational and will remain so, but we’ve seen what happens when too much depends on a single market. It limits flexibility, and over time, it limits growth.

That’s why diversification matters. And by diversification, I don’t mean walking away from our closest partners. I mean making sure Canada has a presence in the markets where demand is growing. You can see that approach in the recent Canadian trade missions, for example.

Premier Scott Moe joined Prime Minister Mark Carney in both China and India, not as a symbolic gesture, but because Saskatchewan has built strong relationships over many years and has something to offer in those markets. In China, discussions focused on tariff relief and energy cooperation. In India, meetings led to a major uranium agreement with Cameco and renewed momentum toward a broader trade deal. Premier Moe was one of only two premiers on that leg of the trip, alongside New Brunswick’s Susan Holt, which speaks to how central these sectors are to the conversation.

This is about showing up where demand is increasing and making sure Canada is part of those discussions, not necessarily choosing one trading partner over another. That is a clear distinction I think it’s important to make.

Of course, none of this matters if we can’t move our products more efficiently. Resources in the ground don’t create prosperity on their own. They need to get to market reliably and at a competitive cost, which ultimately comes down to infrastructure. Port, rail, road and air links are what connect Western Canada to the world. When those systems work well, exporters can move quickly and compete. But when they don’t, that’s when we start to see opportunities slip away or land elsewhere.

This brings us to another piece of equal importance, even if it gets talked about even less.

Things slow down when governments pull in different directions. Projects take longer, investors start to hesitate and trading partners start to wonder whether Canada can follow through. That is why the recent trade missions stood out. Seeing Prime Minister Carney and Premier Moe present a unified front sent a strong signal that Canada can act with consistency and alignment when it matters.

We need more of this – not as a replacement for sound policy or investment, but as the foundation that allows both to work.

Tariffs and trade disputes will always be part of the conversation, but they are not the whole story.

Canada already has what much of the world is looking for. The real question is – are we organized enough to make the most of it?