Rural Strong: Unleashing Canada’s competitive advantage to the world for the benefit of Canadian families
It is an extraordinary time in our country’s history — one defined by global instability, strained affordability and the urgent need to rebuild Canada’s economic foundations. These challenges underscore a fundamental truth: the world needs more Canada, and as Canadians, we cannot succeed without rural Canada.
Rural Canada holds what the world needs: energy, food, critical minerals, clean technology capacity, and the infrastructure to connect it all. It is the source of nearly 60 per cent of Canada’s exports, drives 30 per cent of national GDP and powers our supply chains across every province and territory. From trade corridors and energy grids to AI-powered agriculture and data centres, rural regions are critical to the prosperity and sovereignty of our country. Rural Canada is more than a backdrop — it’s at the core of Canadian industries and the values we represent.
Rural Canada is the key to delivering on each of the recent objectives set out by the government: strengthening trade partnerships, building nation-shaping infrastructure, reducing costs for Canadians, growing skilled trades, leveraging AI, and catalyzing private investment. In addition to the government’s efforts, Canada’s main opposition parties, who represent constituents across rural Canada, continue to call for the rural voice to be heard. In many ways, rural Canada unites us as a country.
Since the launch of the Rural Prosperity Group, we have witnessed firsthand the resilience and innovation of rural communities. These communities, however, continue to face compounding pressures: trade uncertainty, declining population, aging infrastructure, climate risk, and gaps in access to transportation, education, health care, and even financial services.
As the State of Rural Canada 2024 report by the Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation highlights, rural, remote and northern communities face population decline, unique vulnerabilities to climate risk such as wildfires, floods and droughts, aging infrastructure and limited access to transportation, education, health care and more. Yet, these communities are the jewels of our nation, integral to the well-being of our entire country.
Indeed, rural Canadians remain deeply committed to building “one Canadian economy” — a vision shared in the Prime Minister’s promise to create a strong economy that works for everyone. This vision cannot be realized without unlocking the full potential of rural regions, treating rural communities as equal partners in growth and ensuring that national decisions reflect rural realities.
As the government prepares Budget 2025, we urge the federal government to adopt a practical, high-impact and low-cost initial commitment that aligns with its top priorities:
Apply a rural lens to all future policy, program and regulatory decisions, and trade negotiations and agreements: Ensure that no future federal regulation, program or policy — domestic or international — harms rural Canada. This requires the institutional and consistent application of a rural lens at all stages of federal decision-making, ensuring that new programs or initiatives account for rural needs, challenges and opportunities.
Review existing policies through a rural lens to unleash growth and resilience: Launch an early and comprehensive review of existing policies and regulations to determine how they impact rural communities today — and how they can be retooled on a priority basis to support rural economic success and thriving communities.
Proven and nimble avenues already exist to support this requirement, such as the inclusion of a rural-specific component in for-decision memorandums, Treasury Board’s impact analysis, and even adapting other existing impact assessments.
Analysis is required at the beginning of decision-making, not as an afterthought. Evaluative considerations could include:
How will rural residents access this policy, program, or service?
What tangible benefits will this deliver to rural communities?
Does the policy assume an urban delivery model that may not work in rural settings?
Are supply chain or ecosystem capacities being considered?
Are the rural assets being maximized, with their prospects realized?
If structural challenges cannot be addressed, how will rural Canada be supported through innovative, alternative measures?
Are rural communities well-prepared and well-supported to achieve a successful transition?
Does this genuinely reflect rural needs, or is it a top-down solution that won’t work locally?
Were unintended impacts evaluated?
Were rural-specific metrics applied in planning?
This commitment will yield a significant return on investment. It ensures every dollar the government spends — from infrastructure to innovation and more — works for all Canadians, regardless of postal code.
Input to Budget 2025 consultations — The promise of rural Canada for growth and prosperity for all
It is an extraordinary time in our country’s history and one that further highlights the critical importance of rural communities to Canada’s economic growth and the prosperity of Canadians from coast to coast. Since our launch last September, we have witnessed the resilience and ingenuity of rural communities, which is being tested through the trade uncertainty our country is currently facing. While all sectors of our economy are affected, rural Canada and the rural way of life are more affected than anyone.
There is ample such evidence but as a recent State of Rural Canada 2024 report by the Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation highlights, rural, remote and northern communities face population decline, climate risks, aging infrastructure and limited services to transportation, education, health care and more. Yet, these communities are the jewels of our nation, integral to the well-being of our entire country.
The rural opportunity for all
Economic growth and prosperity, especially in light of trade threats from the U.S. and elsewhere during this tumultuous time, lie in unlocking rural Canada’s potential.
We are fortunate: Canada has no greater competitive advantage than its natural resources, including agriculture, mining, energy, and forestry — all found in rural Canada — as well as innovative sectors like telecommunications, digital technologies and farming delivering essential services to these communities. Any increase in tariffs or trade restrictions will certainly result in reduced market access, lower prices for Canadian products and job losses in rural industries and the local and urban communities they serve. This will directly impact farm incomes, disrupt supply chains across every sector nationally and hurt small businesses that rely on exports to sustain their operations.
That’s why, in Budget 2025, we’re asking for commitments that ensure no future regulations or policy initiatives that harm rural Canada, even inadvertently, will be implemented; and that any existing policies and regulations be urgently reviewed through a rural lens so that they truly support the rural way of life and create real opportunities.
This is a zero-cost commitment that will ensure Canada remains strong and our economy thrives.
As the government looks to address housing, labour and employment challenges as well as rising crime and drug addiction issues facing our country, it must appreciate the economic and social benefits of the rural way of life. Empowering rural prosperity is key to making our economy strong. It is incumbent upon all of us to bridge urban and rural voices to ensure our country remains the best in the world in the face of ongoing threats and challenges.