Canada After America (A Strategy for Prosperity in a Changed World)

For generations, Canada built its prosperity on economic integration with the United States, only to find itself hostage to its nearest neighbour.

In Canada After America, economists Ricardo Hausmann and Eric Protzer offer a bold, practical strategy for Canadian prosperity in a radically changed world.

Drawing on research from the Harvard Growth Lab and the insights of economic complexity, they argue that the answer is not to retreat from globalization, but to become far better at competing in the rest of the world. Canada must get more of its natural resources to global markets while building industries—aerospace, life sciences, technology—that can overcome the tyranny of distance.

It won't be easy. Despite world-class universities and research, Canada’s private-sector knowledge economy remains stunted. The country has failed to build and sustain large, research-intensive companies and the dynamic cities in which they flourish. It must abandon its “small is beautiful” approach to innovation, remove barriers to growth, and enable its most promising firms to scale.

The rupture with America is a crisis—but also a historic opportunity to build a more innovative, resilient, and globally competitive Canada.