July 31, 2025
Most Canadians have no idea what the Business Council of Canada is or who it represents. But in Ottawa, the organization and its lobbyists are recognized power players, enjoying more influence and access than ever. Business Council CEO Goldy Hyder scored a face-to-face meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney just days after he was elected, and the group’s lobbyists have been in constant contact with Carney and his top officials ever since.
Through the Business Council, corporate Canada has laid out its wishlist in no uncertain terms: fast-tracking resource extraction, slashing taxes for Big Tech and the wealthy, gutting public services, and pouring money into the arms industry.
Perhaps most controversially, after an election framed around standing up to the United States, the Business Council has pushed for closer ties with the Trump regime—despite overwhelming evidence that it is an unreliable and erratic partner.
On every major file, Carney has delivered. His Liberal government has quickly aligned itself with the Council’s priorities, leaving many Liberal supporters disoriented. Yet in many ways, this marks a return to form in the longstanding alliance between Canada’s political class and its corporate elite.
Carney’s election has sparked something of a renaissance for the Business Council, which had felt sidelined in recent years. Once a dominant force in shaping economic policy throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the Council—which was known for a time as the Canadian Council of Chief Executives—saw its influence wane under the Trudeau government.
Now, with Carney at the helm, Ottawa has undergone what Politico describes as a major “vibe shift.” Gone are Trudeau’s tearful apologies and drawn-out consultations. Instead, Carney’s Liberals, in lockstep with the Conservatives, have rushed through contentious bills like C-2 (Strong Borders Act) and C-5 (Building Canada Act), while rapidly reorienting federal priorities toward corporate interests and military expansion.