When you can’t trust your biggest trading partner, and the whole world is in turmoil, perhaps we should be listening to Mark Carney, our prime minister and leader, and Minister Melanie Joly, who on May 28 commented that Canada should adopt a “wartime philosophy.” Donald Trump united Canadians with his tariffs and threat to annex Canada and make us the 51st state.
Just as Stephen Harper announced that Canada should become an energy superpower, Mark Carney has revived that dream as he headed up a premier’s meeting in Saskatoon on Monday. He has asked the thirteen provincial premiers and territorial leaders to provide him with thirteen national projects to jump start Canada’s economy and to grow our nation.
Energy appears at the top of the list. The Atlantic provinces have identified wind energy as a major need. In the west, Alberta and Saskatchewan have identified more pipelines to get oil and gas to tide water ports. It would reduce the dependence of selling bitumen products at a discount into the United States. Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew is promoting the port of Churchill to transport more products out of the west to destinations in Europe and Africa.
The Arctic Gateway group has revised the Churchill Port and upgraded the 1,000 km railway from Flin Flon to the Arctic Port of Churchill. It would shorten the time to move grain, potash, oil and natural gas to Europe by days. The project would strengthen the west and provide a second tide water port for Alberta and Saskatchewan. It is already shipping critical minerals to Europe for processing.
Mark Carney stressed that his first mandate was to remove trade barriers between provinces by Canada Day. It was a bold statement. Yet, on the eve of the premier’s meeting, Saskatchewan’s premier Scott Moe and Ontario’s premier agreed to eliminate trade barriers between the two provinces. Previously Ontario has signed similar agreements with New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Manitoba. Those agreements will make it easier for labour to move across borders and for alcohol to be directly shipped across borders. A similar agreement is in the works with Quebec.
Also on the agenda are major projects to build and expand new highways and bridges to improve transportation networks across Canada. The thirteen leaders are being challenged to bring forth projects and produce legislation that will benefit all Canadians.
At the end of the day, the leaders agreed on the criteria for major projects. Carney did not choose a single project to begin, but outlined the principals that would guide the future selection of massive infrastructure projects.
As Melanie Joly, stated we must be on a war footing acting fast to move legislation forward to create new trading opportunities, reduce procedures on amalgamations, build in the north, expand our military. It is not for the faint of heart. In World War I and World War II Canadians rallied to create one of the largest navies and one of the biggest armies in the world. We have a different challenge before us to diversify and expand our economy.
