Business leaders, entrepreneurs, agricultural producers, and community members gathered in Medicine Hat for an evening discussion with Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, hosted by the Southeast Alberta Chamber of Commerce and MP Glen Motz. The event focused heavily on affordability, economic competitiveness, energy development, labour shortages, internal trade, public safety, and Canada's position in a changing global economy.

While the discussion covered a wide range of topics, a clear theme emerged throughout the evening: Canada must become more affordable, more productive, and more competitive by reducing barriers to business growth and accelerating private sector investment.

Affordability Starts with Energy

One of Poilievre's central messages was that affordability and economic growth are directly connected to Canada's energy sector.

With fuel costs impacting inflation across the economy, affecting everything from food production and transportation to home heating and manufacturing, he announced that Conservatives propose to temporarily remove federal taxes on diesel while also encouraging investment in domestic refining, storage, and transportation infrastructure.

For Southeast Alberta businesses, particularly those in agriculture, transportation, construction, and energy services, the discussion highlighted how fuel prices remain a significant operating cost and competitive challenge.

Poilievre repeatedly emphasized that Canada should focus on becoming more energy self-reliant by increasing domestic production and processing capacity rather than depending on imported refined fuels.

Economic Growth Through Faster Project Approvals

A recurring concern raised during the event was Canada's ability to build major projects. Poilievre argued that lengthy permitting, overlapping regulatory approvals, and bureaucratic delays continue to discourage investment across sectors ranging from energy and mining to transportation and manufacturing.

He advocated for:

• Faster project approvals
• Removing duplicate federal and provincial permitting
• Firm timelines for regulatory decisions
• "Shovel-ready" industrial zones with pre-approved development opportunities
• Repealing barriers that delay pipelines and resource development

His position was that Canada should strive to become one of the fastest jurisdictions in the world for approving and constructing major economic infrastructure.

For Southeast Alberta, where economic development opportunities often depend on transportation networks, industrial development, energy infrastructure, and value-added agriculture projects, this message resonated strongly with audience questions about competitiveness and investment attraction.

Internal Trade Barriers Remain a Major Economic Opportunity

Discussion around trade highlighted that Canada already has access to many international markets through existing trade agreements. In his view, the bigger problem is Canada's inability to move products efficiently both within Canada and to export markets. Examples discussed included:

• Agricultural products restricted by provincial regulations
• Complex CFIA licensing requirements
• Interprovincial alcohol trade barriers
• Professional licensing restrictions
• Labour mobility challenges

He suggested that mutual recognition agreements between provinces could significantly reduce costs and accelerate economic activity. The discussion closely aligned with long-standing Chamber advocacy efforts supporting labour mobility, credential recognition, and the reduction of interprovincial trade barriers.

Labour Shortages Require Practical Solutions

Labour shortages generated considerable discussion, particularly in agriculture, trades, and healthcare. Audience members highlighted workforce challenges facing employers across Southeast Alberta, prompting discussion about several potential solutions. 

Skilled Trades: Poilievre identified skilled trades as one of Canada's strongest long-term career opportunities and suggested expanding apprenticeship exposure during high school. He noted growing demand for trades professionals and argued that skilled trades are likely to remain resilient in an increasingly AI-driven economy.

Healthcare Credential Recognition: Another significant proposal involved creating a national "Blue Seal" credential recognition system for regulated professions. The concept would aim to accelerate licensing for internationally trained healthcare professionals and improve labour mobility across provincial boundaries. Given ongoing healthcare staffing pressures throughout rural Alberta, this issue generated strong audience interest.

Agriculture Workforce Needs: Poilievre acknowledged the unique workforce requirements facing agriculture and indicated support for maintaining specialized agricultural worker programs where domestic labour shortages exist.

Public Safety and Community Prosperity

Questions around crime and public safety also featured prominently. Poilievre argued that business investment, downtown revitalization, and community prosperity depend heavily on public safety. He criticized repeat-offender bail provisions and outlined proposals focused on stricter sentencing, addiction treatment, and stronger enforcement against organized crime. The issue was framed largely from a business perspective, with particular attention paid to challenges facing retailers and downtown business districts across Canada.

Canada-U.S. Trade and Export Opportunities

During the question-and-answer session, Poilievre was asked about his recent visit to the United States and efforts to address Canada-U.S. trade tensions. He described meeting with American media, business leaders, and political stakeholders to advocate for tariff-free trade between the two countries. At the same time, he argued that Canada must diversify export opportunities by improving its ability to move products to global markets.

Energy Exports 

Poilievre pointed to growing demand for Canadian oil and natural gas in Europe and Asia and argued that Canada's challenge is not finding customers but rather getting Canadian products to market efficiently.

Supporting Small Business

For the many small and medium-sized businesses represented in the room, Poilievre's comments repeatedly returned to one principle: remove obstacles rather than create more government programs. He suggested that governments often attempt to solve problems through subsidies after creating barriers through taxes, regulation, or administrative complexity. Areas highlighted included:

• Simplifying business taxation
• Reducing regulatory burden
• Lowering investment barriers
• Improving permitting timelines
• Encouraging private capital investment
• Reducing administrative burden on entrepreneurs

He stated that businesses should spend more time serving customers and creating jobs and less time navigating bureaucracy.

What This Means for Southeast Alberta

Many topics aligned closely with issues frequently raised by Southeast Alberta businesses:

• Fuel affordability
• Transportation infrastructure
• Labour shortages
• Trade barriers
• Agricultural competitiveness
• Resource development
• Healthcare workforce challenges
• Regulatory efficiency
• Public safety
• Investment attraction

Whether attendees agreed or disagreed with the proposed solutions, the conversation reinforced that many of the challenges facing Southeast Alberta are not unique to the region. They are part of broader national discussions about productivity, competitiveness, affordability, and economic growth.

For the Southeast Alberta Chamber of Commerce, the evening provided an opportunity to bring federal political discussion directly to local businesses while ensuring that issues important to the region, including agriculture, labour mobility, trade, energy, and infrastructure, remained front and centre.

Across nearly every topic discussed, one theme consistently emerged: Canada's ability to compete globally will depend on how effectively it can remove barriers to investment, move goods and people more efficiently, and create conditions that allow businesses, workers, and communities to succeed.

View the event that was livestreamed on October 1st.

Find out more about the recommendations the Southeast Alberta Chamber of Commerce is advocating for with the federal government.