National Bank CEO Calls for Buy-Canada Rules

With US tariffs looming and growing protectionism south of the border, National Bank of Canada’s Chief Executive Officer Laurent Ferreira is calling on the country to respond with its own nationalist reforms, including a “Buy Canada Act.”

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Bloomberg News

Christine Dobby

Published Jan 23, 2025  •  2 minute read

Laurent Ferreira, president and chief executive officer of the National Bank of Canada. Photo by Andrej Ivanov /Photographer: Andrej Ivanov/Bloo

(Bloomberg) — With US tariffs looming and growing protectionism south of the border, National Bank of Canada’s Chief Executive Officer Laurent Ferreira is calling on the country to respond with its own nationalist reforms, including a “Buy Canada Act.” 

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Canada also needs to lighten “the tax and regulatory burden” on businesses, Ferreira said during a lunchtime speech at the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal Thursday, according to a translated version of his remarks. The leader of the country’s sixth-largest bank said the new “combative administration” in the US and its pro-business agenda has sparked a renewed conversation around Canadian productivity.

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“If there’s one thing that President Trump has done for Canada — we might even thank him for it one day — it’s that he has reignited discussions between governments and the business world,” Ferreira said. 

US President Donald Trump signaled this week he’s considering imposing tariffs of as high as 25% on Canada and Mexico by Feb. 1. The Canadian government is preparing a number of responses of its own, but most scenarios would still come at a heavy cost for Canada and lead to a potentially deep and lengthy recession.

That prospect has spurred debate among Canadian business leaders, economists and policymakers about what the country can do to improve its economic outlook independent of its biggest trading partner.    

Canada should focus on its strengths in response, Ferreira said, citing the energy sector, natural resources, agriculture and manufacturing. And buy-Canadian rules should apply to government procurement, research and development and artificial-intelligence investments for defense and national security, he added.    

“This would enable us to protect our national interests while revitalizing and promoting Canadian companies and industries,” he said.

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Ferreira’s remarks come one day after Royal Bank of Canada CEO Dave McKay told Bloomberg Television that Canada has failed to develop its resources in an “expedited manner.”

Leveraging resources such as oil or rare-earth minerals could lead to a stronger alliance with the US, McKay said in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

“Tone at the top is so important. You’ve seen it in the US, you’re seeing a change in the tone at the top in Europe — pro-growth, less regulation, you’ve got to get things done,” McKay said, adding that “whoever leads Canada,” after an election later this year whether it’s Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre “or someone else, we just need that leadership.”

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