Canada’s Leading Research Universities

Developing talent, Driving innovation, Delivering impact.

Robert Asselin: How Canada can compete in a weaponized world economy

Article by Robert Asselin, CEO, U15 Canada | Published August 29, 2025 in the Hub

We no longer inhabit a world where Canada can count on the restoration of unfettered free trade with the United States. That era is gone, and with it the comforting assumption that our prosperity can be secured by access to the American market.

Some will argue that protectionism is cyclical and that trade agreements like CUSMA still anchor stability. But agreements matter less when rules can be bent overnight by tariffs or export controls. Even “stable” trade frameworks can be weaponized. Canada must plan for a world where economic coercion is a permanent feature of the landscape….

Robert Asselin: How Canada can compete in a weaponized world economy – The Hub

What We Are Saying

September 24, 2025
Contributed to The Hill Times by Daniel Jutras | Published September 24, 2025 — Daniel Jutras is Chair of U15 Canada and Rector of the [...]
September 19, 2025
Robert Asselin, CEO of U15 Canada quoted The Logic article by David Reevely | Published September 19, 2025 Foreign enrolments have plunged in science and [...]
September 10, 2025
Daniel Jutras, Rector of the Université de Montréal and Chair of U15 Canada, quoted in CBC News article by Jessica Wong.| Posted September 10, 2025 [...]