The head of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce says all party leaders failed Canadian businesses in the latest election causing economic uncertainty.
Perrin Beatty says discussions around economy and business policies were almost non-existent on the campaign trail.
"They let Canadians down. There should have been a discussion," said Beatty. "We face serious challenges as a country and we have incredible opportunities as a country and the obligation of our political parties was to put a vision of what Canada could be in the window."
With the outcome of a minority government, Beatty says it could be difficult to address some of those big systemic issues facing Canadian businesses big and small.
"When we look at the broader issues affecting Canada's economy they're long term, structural. How do we build a 21st-century workforce? How do we ensure that we put in place the infrastructure that will allow us to get our products to market," said Beatty.
"These long term, important structural issues are left to drift often [with a minority government] and the challenge for the business community is that we have to resolve these issues. We have to be more competitive. We have to manage our relationship with the United States," said Beatty.
The minority government could be a positive for the Windsor-Essex region though. With all three major parties represented here, Beatty says no one can afford to ignore the region.
"I think that the political parties ignore this region at their peril. The simple fact is that the message that you sent is that this is an area that no one can count on an assured vote," said Beatty.
Beatty spoke about the outcome of the federal election and what it means for Canadian businesses at a luncheon hosted by the Windsor-Essex Regional Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday.
