Canada has been sleepwalking through an economic decline—and we’ve been in denial about it for years. Our productivity is tanking, and with it, our standard of living. We’re falling behind the rest of the developed world while pretending everything’s fine. Even the Senior Deputy Governor of the Bank of Canada has sounded the alarm: our productivity crisis isn’t just a problem anymore—it’s an emergency.

But the real scandal? Most people still don’t care. Too many believe this is someone else’s problem—let the government fix it (which, by the way, has done absolutely nothing). And too many others shrug and say, why should I care? I’m still comfortable.

That kind of thinking is exactly why we’re in this mess. Comfort makes it easy to ignore the truth—until the truth punches you in the face. Real change doesn’t come from hiding behind convenience. It comes from facing the hard facts and doing something about them.

And then came the American tariffs. And just like that, we were forced to wake up. Not only were we staring down our own self-inflicted productivity collapse, we were hit with a new wave of economic threats from outside our borders.

The only good news? We’re no longer comfortable—and that might be exactly what this country needs. Comfort breeds complacency. Discomfort demands action. And action is long overdue.

So how bad is our situation? In the words of Scott Thomson, CEO of Scotiabank:

“Canada is facing one of the most consequential economic and existential challenges that it has faced in its 158-year history. This is no mere inflection point – this is something bigger. This country cannot afford to stand still, to wait and see where the chips will fall, and then react.”

He’s right. We’re not at a crossroads—we’re at the edge of a cliff. And standing still is no longer an option.

The good news? There’s rare consensus on the strategy that could pull us back from the brink: fully harnessing our natural resources and becoming the world’s leading supplier. It’s a direction we should have pursued long before the U.S. slapped tariffs on us, but here we are—forced to move because we waited too long.

Scott Thomson supports this strategy, but with a critical warning:

“It is clear that Canada has in abundance what the world needs, but it will take a massive investment, and a clear path to enable that investment, to fully assert our position as a natural resource powerhouse.”

Translation? We’re sitting on immense potential—but realizing it will take billions in investment, bold political will, and nation-building infrastructure: coast-to-coast pipelines, LNG terminals, rail expansion, and more. Projects we’ve failed to act on for decades. And make no mistake: none of this would be happening if we hadn’t been shoved to the edge by American tariffs.

There’s nothing like staring into the abyss to force change. But now that we’re here, this is our moment—to take back control of our economy, to break free from America’s shadow, and to forge a bold, sovereign future on our terms.

But let’s be honest. As straightforward as this solution sounds—Canada becoming the world’s natural resource supplier—actually making it happen will be one of the greatest national challenges in our history. As Prime Minister Mark Carney put it:

“We have to build things we never imagined, at a pace we never thought possible.”

What he didn’t say—but almost certainly meant—is this: our politicians are nowhere near ready. Success will demand a level of unity, urgency, and cooperation in Ottawa that we’ve never seen before. And time is not on our side.

So let me be blunt: if we leave this to the politicians alone, we will fail. They will stall. They will bicker. They will protect their own turf while the country bleeds opportunity. That’s why they need a push—a hard one.

What we need now is a Radically Canadian grassroots movement—a surge of citizens from coast to coast who are done waiting, done apologizing, and ready to speak with one united, relentless voice. A movement that demands radical, transformational change, that pressures our leaders to drop their petty politics, and that refuses to let this opportunity slip away like so many before it.

Let this be the spark. Let this be the moment we stop outsourcing our future to politicians and start taking ownership of our destiny. If we succeed, one day we’ll look back on this crisis as the turning point—when Canadians stood up, took responsibility, and proved to the world that we are an indisputable, sovereign nation.