What Mark Carney’s Davos speech has to do with Scarborough. Execution matters for average people when it comes to big visions.
The room at Davos was full. The speech was polished and well received. It sounded right. But when you come back to Scarborough, the cost of living — and the cost of doing business — haven’t changed.
Prime Minister Mark Carney is a smart man. His recent speech at the World Economic Forum clearly named the realities of a fractured global system and the pressure facing middle-power economies like Canada. From a global standpoint, the diagnosis made sense. From a delivery standpoint, it was strong. But businesses and households don’t measure speeches by applause. They measure them by outcomes.
From an economic and investor lens, one reality is hard to ignore: Canada’s economy is deeply integrated with that of the United States. Capital flows, trade, and supply chains show that the two economies are more valuable together than apart. Energy, agriculture, manufacturing, and logistics do not function in isolation. That reality doesn’t weaken Canada’s position — it raises the bar on execution.
Canada is often described as a middle power. In practice, that means we don’t dominate markets. We succeed by being reliable, fast, and competitive. When operating alongside a much larger economy, we cannot afford self-inflicted delays, higher costs, or uncertainty. Alignment matters — but execution matters more.
“The fastest way to
see the impact of
weak execution isn’t
in policy papers —
it’s at the grocery
store.”
Over the past decade, Canada missed opportunities that could have strengthened productivity and long-term growth. Major energy and resource projects stalled. Processing and refining capacity for critical minerals never scaled. Capital investment slowed as approvals dragged and signals became mixed. When capital investment stalls, productivity stalls — and when productivity stalls, inflation becomes harder to control.
That link is critical. Inflation is not just a monetary issue. It is also a productivity issue. When economies under-invest in infrastructure, energy, and manufacturing, supply tightens and costs rise. Food inflation makes this visible. Higher fuel, transportation, fertilizer, and financing costs push grocery prices up faster than wages. The fastest way to see the impact of weak execution isn’t in policy papers — it’s at the grocery store.
Targeted benefits can help households manage short-term pressure, but they don’t address the structural drivers of higher costs. Long-term affordability depends on capital investment that improves productivity: efficient logistics, modernized manufacturing, reliable energy, and faster project delivery. Without that, inflation relief is temporary.
Scarborough feels this reality acutely. We are one of the most industrial and economically diverse communities in the GTA. Our manufacturers, contractors, logistics firms, and small and mid-sized businesses operate on tight margins and real timelines. When capital investment slows nationally, Scarborough feels it locally — through delayed expansions, postponed hiring, and fewer productivity-enhancing upgrades.
Today, the cost of doing business remains high. Energy, transportation, insurance, financing, and compliance costs weigh on firms that would otherwise invest and grow. That limits productivity gains and reinforces inflationary pressure — a cycle that hurts both employers and households.
The point is not to dismiss global leadership or strategic thinking. Both matter. But from where we sit in Scarborough, execution is not abstract. It is the difference between higher productivity or higher prices. Between growth or stagnation.
Lower costs. Faster approvals. Productive capital investment. Competitive energy. Domestic manufacturing. Jobs that build the middle class. Vision sets direction. Execution delivers results — and Scarborough is ready to deliver.
–By Ryan Somer, President of Scarborough Business Association
