Priorities for a competitive future in this year’s federal election

September 9, 2019 – Calgary, Edmonton

With the federal election approaching, Canadians face an important choice. In a rapidly changing global economy, Canada needs strong leadership to navigate the way toward a more competitive and prosperous future.

The Calgary and Edmonton Chambers of Commerce have united to speak with one voice to urge all federal parties seeking election to adopt business-forward policies that allow Canada to seize the opportunities to be a world leader in energy, innovation and talent. The Chambers have identified five key election priorities that will allow Canada to lead the global fight against climate change, increase trade within and beyond our borders, modernize our tax system, equip our workforce with the skills to thrive, and address our fiscal imbalance.

“We need to have meaningful ‘and’ conversations to move forward, together,” said Calgary Chamber President & CEO Sandip Lalli. “We must take decisive action to bolster Canada’s global competitiveness and stimulate innovation, increase market access interprovincially and internationally, develop talent and adapt to changing technologies.”

Over the summer, the Calgary and Edmonton Chambers shared these five priorities with federal parties to inform the development of their platforms. Together, they call on governments to:

• Develop environment and climate policies that stimulate competition.
• Expand market access and trade.
• Create a globally competitive tax system.
• Close the talent and skills gap.
• Plan for our fiscal future.

“We’re strongly encouraging federal parties to adopt business-forward policies to ensure Canada takes advantage of the opportunities that have been presented to us,” said Janet Riopel, President & CEO of the Edmonton Chamber. “We must make bold choices now to boost competitiveness or risk watching from the sidelines as other nations compete and win.”

For more information, we encourage you to read the policy recommendations featured in our joint 2019 Federal Election Platform – Priorities for a Competitive Future.

About the Calgary Chamber

The Calgary Chamber is an independent non-profit, non-partisan business organization. For 128 years the Chamber has worked to build a business community that nourishes, powers and inspires the world.

About the Edmonton Chamber

The Edmonton Chamber is the respected voice of business in the Edmonton Metropolitan Region. With over 2,000 member companies that employ over 100,000 people in our region, we are among the most influential business organizations in the country. The Edmonton Chamber is non-partisan organization and we do not endorse any political party or any candidate seeking elected office.