Resilience, Discipline, and Canada’s Role on the Global Stage
Following a recent 7 Centre advisory board meeting, Dan Wayner and I stayed behind to talk about Canada’s evolving landscape. Our conversation naturally turned to Prime Minister Mark Carney and his ongoing push to strengthen the country’s resilience.
One of the reasons Wayner joined us at 7 Centre was his belief that the Simplii platform could help support both supply chain transparency and business resilience across Canada. Long before the US administration began implementing its protectionist trade agenda, Wayner was already deeply concerned about the lack of visibility in our internal supply chain networks. He viewed this as a critical weakness and a national security risk.
We’re talking about vulnerabilities exposed by natural disasters, labour disruptions, cyberattacks, and protectionist trade policies. These disruptions delay deliveries, raise costs, destabilize operations, and threaten business continuity.
With Carney now at the helm and championing a more resilient Canadian economy, there’s a renewed sense of urgency and hope that his administration will prioritize transparency. His own recent words capture this sentiment:
“We will strengthen our relationships with reliable trade partners and allies. Canada has what the world needs, and we uphold the values the world respects.”
These ideas are not new. They are well articulated in Carney’s 2021 book “Value(s): Building a Better World for All”. One particular quote from that book, has truly anchored our recent discussions: “Countries must pursue a more disciplined approach to building resilience so that people can withstand shocks when they appear, and the economy can recover quickly from them.”
This disciplined approach – the thoughtful assessment of material risks and opportunities and strategies to minimize the risks and maximize the opportunities – is foundational in other parts of the world, particularly in Europe. Carney, as former Governor of the Bank of England and Vice Chair of the European Systemic Risk Board, has seen this approach work.
If Canada truly wants to diversify its trade and deepen its partnerships with reliable, sustainability-focused allies, then we urgently need that same discipline at home. It is it likely that Canada will establish a new normal in our trade relationship with the US, but as PM Carney points out, “there will be no going backwards”.
We were making progress: the Canadian Sustainability Standards Board had aligned with the International Sustainability Standards Board’s IFRS S1 and S2, providing companies with a clear framework to assess sustainability risks and opportunities.
Then the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) hit pause.
The irony? Their stated reason was to focus on making Canadian markets more “competitive, efficient and resilient.”
So, here’s the question:
If you are the Prime Minister of Canada, and you:
✅ Believe in a disciplined approach to resilience
✅ Want to expand trade with countries that require international sustainability disclosures
❌ But your capital markets regulator has hit pause on progress toward those very standards…
Then how will Canadian companies compete? Many prospective global customers are already asking: “How are you protecting your business from risk—like climate disasters? And why should we choose you over companies already demonstrating how they’re managing risk and seizing opportunity?”
Canada needs to be disciplined. We need a national strategy that builds business resilience from the ground up, so we are not only keeping up, but leading.
As Carney warned, “we have suffered through too much fragility, with shocks cascading through the system, magnifying destruction along the way.”
Let’s not keep repeating history. Let’s lead with discipline.
If you’re ready to strengthen your sustainability disclosures, improve supply chain transparency, or compete in global markets, let’s make it happen! Connect with us to get started with Simplii.
#Resilience #Sustainability #Simplii #7Centre #RiskManagement #IFRSS1 #IFRSS2 #SupplyChain
