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Almost two-thirds of Canadian executives say the country is too dependent on resource industries and needs to become more diversified to inject better balance into the economy.
But the latest C-Suite Survey of business executives also shows a deep divide between those in the resource sector and those in other sectors, over the long-standing concentration of Canada’s economic might in mining, oil and gas, and other resources.
Sixty-two per cent of respondents said the downturn in commodities is a reminder that there is too much emphasis on extractive industries, and that there is a need for diversification. About 30 per cent said it makes sense to count on the country’s natural resources – and those executives think the sector will recover as the commodity cycle rebounds.
The results reflect very different views depending on which sector the executives work in. Almost 80 per cent of those in the service industry say Canada is too dependent on resources, while only 44 per cent of executives at the top of mining companies feel that way.
“The reality is that we’ve become overly reliant on the resource industry,” said David MacDonald, chief executive officer of Softchoice Corp., a Toronto-based technology services firm. “I think we’ve gone backward in the last 20 years in diversifying the economy.
“We have become more hewers of wood and drawers of water than we were.” As a result, he said, “there is no doubt in my mind that we have created more risk in our economic environment.”
This overemphasis on resources is supported by the policies of the federal government, which is “obsessed with building a pipeline across North America, which only helps one industry,” Mr. MacDonald said.
He and others who feel the same way don’t want the resource industry to be diminished, but they are looking for more effort to create jobs in other sectors, particularly those that are technology-related.
Sue Paish, chief executive officer of medical testing company LifeLabs Medical Laboratory Services, said it is important that “we balance our reliance on natural resources with our ability to innovate.”
It is not a question of ignoring natural resources, Ms. Paish said, but Canada should avoid being “singularly focused or singularly reliant on any particular sector of the economy.”
Not surprisingly, many executive in the resource sector disagree.
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