August 05, 2025

The Brief: Mike Holden on why Bill C-5 is a good start, but not a complete strategy

21 minutes

Bill C-5 — otherwise known by its full name, An Act to enact the Free Trade and Labour Mobility in Canada Act and the Building Canada Act — is now officially law. While the name may be a mouthful, its goal is clear: to finally fix what Canada has long struggled with, which is getting major projects approved and built faster.

But is C-5 just what the economy ordered, or will it struggle to achieve its intentions and become another overpromised, underdelivered piece of policy? Scott Crockatt is joined by BCA's VP of Policy and Chief Economist Mike Holden to answer this very question. Scott and Mike unpack Canada's "lost decade" and the lack of productivity growth that is alarming Canadian policy thinkers and economists, including the fact that Canada ranks 37 out of 38 OECD countries in productivity growth over the last decade (only ahead of Luxembourg).

The podcast will also break down what's actually in the bill: its biggest strengths, its political hurdles, and the early pushback it's already facing. Finally, the episode wraps with a broad discussion on whether the "production model" (i.e., Bill C-5) lives up to expectations from "the advertisement" (i.e., the Liberal election platform).

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About the Business Council of Alberta

The Business Council of Alberta was founded on a simple idea: to make life better for all Albertans. We believe that business has an important role in improving society, and that when business does well, we all do well. We work with the chief executives and leading entrepreneurs of Alberta's largest enterprises to understand the big, long-term challenges that Albertans are facing and work with industry, government, and civil society to solve these problems and build shared prosperity for every person who calls Alberta home.

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