Goldy Hyder, CEO of the Business Council of Canada, cautions that rising trade uncertainty could dampen investment as Canada seeks to diversify its markets, while urging the United States, Canada and Mexico to deepen their economic cooperation.
Hyder emphasized that Canada’s effort to broaden its global trade ties does not signal a pullback from the United States, warning in an interview with FOX Business that persistent uncertainty over North American trade could trigger a “capital chill” that hinders investment.
He noted that Canadian firms still regard the United States as their primary market, even as Prime Minister Mark Carney’s administration pushes to attract investment and expand trade with Europe and other regions.
As Hyder put it, “Even a kid with a lemonade stand knows it’s unwise to rely on a single customer,” characterizing Canada’s strategy as a “U.S. Plus” approach.
He added that the United States remains and will continue to be Canada’s most important trading partner.
This stance comes amid a marked deterioration in the long‑standing trade relationship between the two allies. Roughly 68 % of Canadian exports this year have headed to the United States, with about 80 % of those shipments entering duty‑free under provisions of the U.S.–Mexico–Canada Agreement, according to data from Canadian and U.S. government sources cited by Reuters.
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Goldy Hyder, president and CEO of the Business Council of Canada, addresses a panel on “Revitalizing APEC: Toward an Asia‑Pacific Vision” at the Boao Forum for Asia’s Annual Conference 2026. (Wang Yiliang/Xinhua via Getty Images)
In recent weeks, Washington and Ottawa have imposed new trade restrictions on each other after talks broke down, heightening uncertainty about the future of the USMCA. Although the agreement remains in force, the United States chose not to extend it in its current form during the July review and continues negotiations with its North American partners.
“Business does not welcome uncertainty; it shuns it, and there is simply too much of it,” Hyder said.
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“The key issue is that uncertainty can produce a capital chill, causing hesitation because we cannot predict the trading environment,” he said.
That concern is echoed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which urges the three governments to resolve the matter swiftly.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney (left) attends the European Commission President’s annual State of the Union address at the European Parliament plenary session in Strasbourg, eastern France, on September 16, 2026. (Jean-Christophe VERHAEGEN / AFP via Getty Images)
“For businesses and investors, restoring certainty to the North American economic partnership—which supports 13 million U.S. jobs—is essential,” said Neil Herrington, the Chamber’s senior vice president for the Americas, in an interview with FOX Business.
Herrington added that the Chamber seeks an outcome that removes tariffs and other trade barriers while preserving a trilateral relationship.
Carney, meanwhile, is positioning Canada as a more diversified hub for global capital. His administration aims to catalyze C$1 trillion in investment over five years, targeting sectors such as energy, mining, technology and infrastructure.
President Donald Trump meets with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in the Oval Office at the White House on May 6, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Canada has also pursued closer ties with Europe. The European Union ranks as Canada’s second‑largest trading partner after the United States, accounting for US$178 billion in total trade last year, according to Global Affairs Canada spokesperson Renelle Arsenault.
Arsenault said Ottawa remains committed to a fair and stable economic relationship with the United States while simultaneously diversifying its trade and investment ties.
Hyder similarly warned against viewing Canada’s international outreach as a substitute for North American economic integration.
“I don’t see any scenario in which we would pursue deeper regulatory, tax or other integration with Europe, given that it is nowhere near as competitive as we are—and certainly not as advantageous as our current arrangement under the USMCA,” he said.
“That remains the foundational trade architecture under which we operate.”
Hyder also dismissed concerns that separate U.S. negotiations with Canada and Mexico indicate the three‑country framework is breaking apart.
Sections of the Enbridge Line 3 pipeline are visible at the construction site on the White Earth Nation Reservation near Wauburn, Minnesota, on June 5, 2021. (Kerem Yucel/AFP via Getty Images)
“All roads point to a merger. All roads point to this coming together trilaterally,” Hyder said, adding that businesses are calling for a “timely, trilateral, tariff‑exempt” review and renewal of the USMCA.
Global Affairs Canada echoed that all three nations would benefit from restoring greater certainty to the North American free‑trade arrangement.
Looking beyond the current dispute, Hyder highlighted energy, nuclear power, food security and critical minerals as areas where the three countries could deepen cooperation and bolster North American supply chains.
“It shouldn’t be America at the expense of Mexico and Canada,” Hyder said. “It should be America, Mexico and Canada thinking as North Americans, working together to compete with the rest of the world.”
