RioCan REIT (REI_u.TO) Chief Executive Ed Sonshine is expressing concern that the Canadian government can remain competitive against a newly emboldened Republican regime in the United States. In an interview on BNN, Sonshine said he fears Ottawa will be ill-equipped to respond to economic policy moves enacted by President-elect Donald Trump.

“He’s a businessman: he understands business and he understands money, and I’m not sure that our political leaders here in Canada do,” Sonshine said. “We’re going to be left behind.”

Sonshine said Canada is deservedly proud of its environmental record, but progress there on that front will put Canadian companies at a disadvantage.

“At the end of the day, all those things rest on a strong economy, because if you’re not producing the money, well, how are you going to pay for all these nice things?” He said. “I’m afraid that as the United States gets more competitive, we will get hurt in the long term, and maybe even the medium term.”

Sonshine said the vast majority of Canadians have not suffered through an economic collapse of the ilk which has claimed manufacturing towns in the rust belt, and thus have never had the economic impetus to push their government to increase its competitive profile.

“I think, unfortunately the vast majority of people don’t really understand how the economy works and how wealth is created and how governments get money,” he said.  “Until you have maybe a little bit of hard times, people aren’t going to get it.”

“Eventually you run into a wall.”