A Stronger Canada: From a Southern Nation to a Truly Continental Canada

The real challenge is building a larger Canada without repeating the mistakes of the past

There is an important paradox at the heart of Canada's future.

Canada needs more people to strengthen its economy, sustain its institutions, expand its productive capacity and enhance its ability to exercise sovereignty across its vast territory. Yet population growth cannot be pursued through an old model of simply occupying land without recognizing the peoples who have long lived on, governed and maintained relationships with it.

The next stage of Canadian development should therefore be fundamentally different from the colonial settlement model.

Northern development must be Indigenous-partnered development.

New communities, regional cities and economic corridors should be developed only where they make economic, environmental and strategic sense—and with Indigenous governments and communities as essential partners in planning, governance, ownership and the sharing of economic benefits.

This is not merely a matter of moral responsibility. It is also a matter of sound public policy and long-term national interest. Canada's future development must respect Indigenous rights, self-determination and jurisdiction while creating opportunities for Indigenous peoples to participate fully in—and benefit from—the economic transformation of their regions.

A stronger Canada should therefore mean a stronger relationship with Indigenous peoples, not the marginalization of Indigenous peoples in the name of national development.

From a Southern Canada to a Truly Continental Canada

Canada's next several decades before the turn of the century should not be about moving millions of people indiscriminately into the Arctic wilderness. Such an approach would be economically, environmentally and socially unrealistic.

Instead, Canada should consider developing a network of strategically located regional cities, growth centres and economic corridors across the provinces and territories.

Such a strategy could include:

• Expanding existing northern and interior cities where there is demonstrated economic potential;
• Developing new regional urban centres where geography, resources, infrastructure and markets make them viable;
• Supporting Indigenous-led economic development and community expansion;
• Building strategic transportation corridors connecting people, resources, markets and communities;
• Expanding reliable, affordable and increasingly renewable energy systems;
• Providing high-quality digital infrastructure to connect remote and northern communities;
• Developing food-production systems adapted to northern conditions and a changing climate;
• Establishing research, education and innovation hubs in strategically located regions;
• Developing resource-processing and advanced-manufacturing centres so that Canada captures more value from its abundant natural resources rather than exporting primarily raw materials;
• Expanding tourism, cultural and nature-based economies in ways compatible with environmental stewardship and Indigenous rights; and
• Developing defence and dual-use infrastructure that can serve both civilian communities and Canada's national-security requirements.
• Such a strategy could gradually reduce Canada's extraordinary concentration of population and economic activity in a relatively small number of metropolitan regions.

Canada does not need to diminish Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver. These cities are among Canada's greatest hubs for economic and cultural assets.

Rather, Canada needs to build many successful and productive places elsewhere.

The objective should be not to redistribute people by administrative decree, but to create the infrastructure, employment, education, housing and economic opportunities that make people and businesses want to locate and remain in new centres.

A New Canadian Social Contract

The historical question of who belongs in Canada should also be reframed.

The descendants of early European settlers should not be made to feel that their contributions to the development of modern Canada are illegitimate. Their institutions, communities, enterprises and generations of work have undeniably helped shape the country as it exists today.

Nor should newer immigrants be treated as permanent outsiders simply because they arrived later.

At the same time, neither early settlement nor subsequent immigration should be interpreted as superseding the rights of Indigenous peoples.

Canada's future should be based on a different proposition:

Indigenous peoples are the original peoples and rights holders; descendants of settlers are part of the society that developed through colonization and subsequent immigration; and newer immigrants are continuing the long process of contributing to and building Canada.

All Canadians have responsibilities toward the country, but those responsibilities arise within different historical contexts.

The objective should therefore be neither historical guilt nor historical aspiration to go back to the past, an impossible feat in the modern world. We cannot even attempt to turn the clock back and undo centuries of demographic, economic and institutional development. The modern world is interconnected, competitive and constantly changing.

Instead, the goal should be shared responsibility for the future.

Canada can acknowledge its colonial history, respect Indigenous rights, recognize the contributions of generations of settlers and welcome newcomers—all while concentrating on the common task of building a stronger Canada.

Multicultural Canada, an Asset for a Continental Canada

Canada has already demonstrated that people from extraordinarily different backgrounds can develop a common civic identity while maintaining diverse cultural traditions.

The country's multicultural demographic transformation is now deeply established. Canadians trace their origins to virtually every part of the world. European-origin Canadians remain the largest broad ancestry category, but the country is increasingly a society in which no single ethnic, racial or cultural group can plausibly claim exclusive ownership of Canadian identity.

Canada's multiculturalism is therefore not merely a demographic reality. It can be a strategic asset.

The diversity of Canada's population provides connections to virtually every region of the world. It creates opportunities for international trade, investment, education, science, technology, tourism and cultural exchange.

A population of 100 million—if Canada ultimately chooses to pursue such a scale—would not need to consist of 100 million people belonging to any particular panethnic, religious, linguistic or cultural group.

It could simply be 100 million Canadians.

The strength of such a Canada would not come from racial or ethnic homogeneity. It would come from shared citizenship, democratic institutions, economic opportunity, social cohesion, mutual respect and recognition of Indigenous rights.

The Larger Vision

Canada's greatest strategic challenge may ultimately be the mismatch between its enormous geography and relatively small population—and between its extraordinary resource potential and the scale at which that potential is currently developed.

Canada possesses enormous natural resources, three ocean coastlines, an Arctic territory of immense strategic importance, abundant freshwater, substantial agricultural capacity, sophisticated institutions, a highly educated population and a globally respected multicultural society.

Yet much of this potential remains underdeveloped relative to the country's size and capabilities.

The answer, however, is not simply to invite more immigrants. Nor is the answer to close Canada's doors.

The answer is to develop a long-term population and national-development strategy that connects immigration with housing, infrastructure, productivity, regional development, industrial capacity, food and energy security, defence, Arctic sovereignty, Indigenous reconciliation and environmental sustainability.

Population policy cannot be separated from national development policy.

If Canada wants more people, it must also build progressively and strategically more homes, schools, hospitals, transportation networks, energy systems, industries and communities required to support them.

If Canada wants greater economic strength, it must increase productivity and value-added production rather than relying excessively on population growth alone.

And if Canada wants to develop its North and interior, it must do so in partnership with the Indigenous peoples whose territories, communities and knowledge are integral to those regions.

What Would a Projected 100-Million-Person Canada Look Like?

A Canada of 50, 60, 75—or perhaps eventually projected 100 million people—should not be imagined simply as today's Canada with more houses, more traffic and larger metropolitan areas.

It should be imagined as a different Canada.

It would be a Canada with more regional centres, stronger transportation connections, greater industrial capacity, more value-added resource processing, stronger domestic food and energy systems, expanded research and innovation capacity, more balanced population distribution and a more substantial presence across its northern and interior regions.

It would also need to be a Canada that is substantially more productive, because population growth without productivity growth would place additional pressure on housing, infrastructure, public services and the environment.

The 100-million figure should therefore be regarded not as a demographic prediction but as a long-term strategic proposition for national discussion.

The question is not whether Canada can simply accommodate 100 million people.

The more important question is:

What kind of prosperous Canada would we need to build if we wanted to become a country of 100-million-population while preserving a high quality of life, environmental sustainability, social cohesion and respect for Indigenous rights?

That is a much more consequential question.

Beyond Filling the Map

The ultimate objective should not be merely to fill empty spaces on a map.

It should be to build a country in which people, prosperity, sovereignty and stewardship extend meaningfully from coast to coast to coast.

Canada's history began with Indigenous civilizations and was profoundly transformed by European colonization and settlement. It has subsequently been reshaped by generations of immigrants from virtually every part of the world.

Its future can be written in the same spirit of transformation—but with a fundamentally different relationship among its peoples.

The Canada of the future should be built through a conscious partnership among Indigenous peoples, long-established Canadians and newcomers.

It should recognize the rights and contributions of Indigenous peoples, honour the contributions of generations who built communities and institutions across the country, and welcome newcomers who bring new energy, skills, ideas and global connections.

The country does not need fewer identities.

It needs a stronger identity built around a common purpose.

It needs a population large enough, productive enough and sufficiently distributed to support its enormous geography; an economy capable of turning its resources into greater domestic value; infrastructure capable of connecting its regions; institutions capable of sustaining democracy and social cohesion; and a national strategy capable of protecting its sovereignty from coast to coast to coast.

A stronger Canada does not require fewer identities. It requires a stronger shared Canadian purpose.