Tuesday, November 10, 2026
Esteemed Canadian leader Bob Rae, former Canadian ambassador to the United Nations, opened Canada’s Infrastructure Conference 2026 in Toronto, with a keynote address in which he shared his unique perspective on Canada’s potential amid a changing world.
In a pointed address on Canadian sovereignty, major project delivery, and national resilience, Rae stressed that the country is standing at a critical crossroads dictated by global events.
“We are here by necessity,” Rae stated. “The rupture that has taken place that the prime minister has described in geopolitics has directly impacted us as a country, and we are being forced with a choice.” Addressing blunt pressure to fold into American influence, Rae noted that “the reality of the situation that we’re in” has galvanized a firm domestic reply: “I think Canadians have responded collectively to say not just no thank you, but just no. We’re not going to become the 51st state.”
Yet rejecting that premise demands answering a tougher question: “What are we going to be?” For Rae, incrementalism is no longer viable. “We couldn’t simply continue the way things were going at the pace at which we were moving, in order to get to a place where we could stand up and say, we’re here, we’re taking charge, we are masters of our own sovereignty.”
Turning vision into reality requires confronting the historic “gap between what governments promise and what governments do.” Rae expressed strong confidence in Prime Minister Mark Carney’s leadership, calling him “more committed to this vision… than any prime minister we’ve had in generations” and uniquely “capable of delivering on that level of commitment.”
Reflecting on his time working in Ontario’s Ring of Fire, Rae firmly challenged the notion that First Nations oppose economic progress. “If somebody says to me the trouble we have with the indigenous communities is that none of them want development, you are not listening to what people are saying,” Rae emphasized. “What they’re saying is, we want to be part of the process. We want this to benefit our people… We do not want to be left behind.”
Rae concluded by urging Canada to act decisively: “This is the moment of necessity. We have put things off for too long… So let’s get to it.”
Featured image: (CCPPP)
