Canada vulnerable to disruption because of trade

Canada ranks 17^th on an index of countries best prepared for disruption such as natural disasters or longer-term demographic, economic, social or technological trends. The ranking was prepared by the accounting giant KPMG. This index and a report are designed as a tool for countries to use freely to improve their ability to manage disruption.

‘Canada does extremely well…but’

“Overall, Canada is a nation that does extremely well,” says Trevor Davies, head of International Development Assistant Services Institute of KPMG. He notes Canada scores extremely well in the three areas upon which the index focuses: government, enterprise, people and civil society. But he says there are areas where it could do better.

“Canada is the second-largest exporter in the world. And obviously, of that $389 billion of export, $288 billion of that go to the U.S., so 74 per cent of Canadian exports go to the U.S. and, as you know, with the discussions around the NAFTA—the free trade agreement—that potentially represents as risk.”

Canada lobby the U.S. hard on trade

Davies is referring to the Trump administration’s demand to renegotiate the trade agreement between Canada, Mexico and the U.S. Canada’s prime minister, several cabinet ministers and provincial government leaders have gone to the U.S. and engaged in intensive lobbying to remind U.S. leaders that the current trade agreement benefits the U.S. and means work for nine million Americans.

Countries can freely use index

Davies encourages all countries to drill down into the index and report which are freely available online. He says countries can compare their performance to that of similar countries and find out how they can improve their own preparedness for disruption.