Adam Pankratz: Mark Carney's worthwhile plan for privatizing airports - National Post
A traveller passes Air Canada planes at Pearson International Airport in Toronto. TERESA SMITH/Postmedia Photo by Aaron Lynett /(Aaron Lynett/National Post)Article contentMark Carney’s investment summit is a sign that perhaps, finally, after a decade of missed opportunities, our government understands that we have to get serious about our lack of productivity, per capita GDP growth and business investment. Among the Prime Minister’s remarks on Tuesday, we learned that the Liberals plan to privatize the operations of Canada’s four largest airports; operations at Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver all up for grabs. With any luck, privatizing Canadian airports is a harbinger of further privatization efforts and efficiency in more areas of Canadian life.
Not everyone is happy. Unions oppose the plan almost unanimously, with Unifor releasing a strongly worded statement. In the letter Unifor National President Lana Payne said “Airport workers know from experience that privatization comes at a cost to them and the travelling public and creates worse working conditions across the aviation industry.” Some commentators have also decried the announcement as something the Liberals “have no mandate” for. On some issues an electoral mandate may be appropriate (Associate membership with EU as one potential example) but not for airport privatization. Privatization should be welcomed, not feared, as it should benefit both passengers and the country.
Columnist Jesse Kline keeps you up to date with what’s happening in Israel and the effects of antisemitism on life here in Canada. Friday mornings.
A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.
The next issue of Channel Israel will soon be in your inbox.
We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again
It is a well established fact that markets and private enterprise are far more efficient than government at running companies and organizations. The reason is simple: corporations and private companies have a clear profit incentive to which they respond. This benefits everyone and is the magic of the market at work. Adam Smith, the father of capitalism, recognized this in his totemic work, The Wealth of Nations back in 1776. “It is not,” Smith wrote, “from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer or the baker that we expect our dinner but from their regard to their own interest. We address ourselves not to their humanity but to their self-love.” Smith’s recognition that by looking out for their own profit interests, individuals, without any formal coordination, would all move towards producing better products more efficiently and at a lower price. This is the famous invisible hand of the market which makes capitalist societies tick.
Yet somehow this observation, which has done more to produce wealth and prosperity than almost any other in the world, is offensive when applied to Canadian airports. Why? Canadian airport fees are high, and passengers are the victims. IATA, the International Air Transport Association, a trade association representing over 370 airlines worldwide, noted in 2024 that Canada’s air transport price competitiveness ranked 101st. On a typical round trip from Toronto to Montreal, Airport Improvement Fees of $70 were charged between the two airports. A domestic round trip in the United States, by contrast, had a passenger facility charge — the U.S. equivalent — of only approximately $12 Canadian dollars. While not all airports are the same — Vancouver is lower than Pearson’s $40 at $25 — the fact remains that Canadian airports are not as cost competitive as their United States counterparts.
