Among his various and sometimes conflicting economic objectives, Donald Trump has identified revitalizing manufacturing as a priority. He has railed against the decline in factory jobs — a complaint that overlooks the jump in U.S. manufacturing employment since 2015 but does reflect the fact that manufacturing today accounts for a significantly smaller share of U.S. jobs than it did 30 years ago.

Canadian policymakers have also been paying more attention to manufacturing, particularly since the 2020-21 COVID shock highlighted the country’s vulnerability to supply chain disruptions. Unfortunately, Ottawa’s preferred game-plan has been to dole out vast taxpayer-funded subsidies to politically favoured segments: Electric vehicles, batteries and clean-tech products. This strategy is doomed to disappoint if the goal is to boost Canadian manufacturing broadly, and comes at a high cost to the already-stretched Canadian treasury.

As in the U.S., manufacturing’s place in the Canadian economy has diminished over time. Here in B.C., the sector directly supports 178,000 jobs, representing just six per cent of overall employment, albeit........

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