Royal Bank of Canada president and chief executive Dave McKay says the country must push forward to complete the Trans Mountain pipeline project if it wants to ensure economic growth in the years ahead.

In an interview on BNN Bloomberg Wednesday, McKay called Trans Mountain’s latest setback “disappointing,” while raising concerns about how it may deter further investment in Canada. The Federal Court of Appeal last week overturned Ottawa’s approval of the Trans Mountain expansion project, which seeks to twin an existing pipeline from Edmonton to the B.C. coast, nearly tripling the overall project’s capacity.  

“Certainly foreign investors are getting impatient,” McKay said. “I think Canadians are going to get impatient, but there’s due process and our courts are telling the government and Canadians that this is the due process that we want to see.”

McKay added that while economic growth has been rebalancing – with exports helping pick up the slack long carried by the Canadian consumer – domestic growth in the next five years will likely depend on business investment. 

“I think it’s important for Canadian investment to signal to foreign investors that we can get big infrastructure projects done,” McKay said.

While McKay noted the Liberal government made a “bold step” to acquire the Trans Mountain pipeline for $4.5 billion and that there’s willingness to complete the expansion project, he warned investors are already turning away from Canada.

“It’s frustrating because capital’s being invested elsewhere in the energy industry where it knows it can get to markets,” he said.

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