As I travel around the world, as I’m demonstrating that Canada is a place where big things are happening, yes, we talk about the great critical minerals and natural resources that Canada has. It’s a huge part of it. I was just in Saskatoon yesterday talking about the fact that Canada is a source of critical minerals and rare earth elements that the world needs for everything, from the automotive industry to the aerospace to health care to clean tech, and all the advances the world is relying on in the coming years, Canada has them.

But not just that Canada has them, because there’s lots of places around the world that have them, the challenge is a lot of those places are becoming a little less reliable as partners, as supply chains, and that’s where Canadians doing things responsibly with great workers, with strong values and strong work ethic, but also strong labour laws and protections, making sure we’re doing things right, making sure we’re doing it with environmental responsibility, making sure that when customers around the world are looking to see if they’re buying good things because their consumers are going to want to know where it comes from, being able to say this was done responsibly, this was done well, is not just an advantage. It’s starting to be a requirement.

More and more companies around the world are asking, so how was this made? Is it union made? Was it made with good labour quality? Was it made with good thoughts to protecting the natural environment, and Canada is incredibly well positioned from that, right across the value chain. So, whether it was in critical minerals and rare earth elements I was talking about yesterday, or right here with the workers here at Stellantis, the workers in Windsor are that competitive edge. Everywhere around the world, they’re wanting to build top quality things, top quality products like this Pacifica.

But the pitch that I get to make in the quality that Canadians bring to the jobs you do, the education, the ambition, the hard work, the generations of building things well in Canada is a huge part of why the world is looking to Canada, because as we see the demand for electric vehicles skyrocket, the demand for clean technology, the demand for more and more future-oriented products and services and things, people are looking more and more to where those things are going to be done and built right.

And that’s the advantage that Canada has. Yes, we’ve got great natural resources. Yes, we got trade deals with two thirds of the global economy. We’re the only G7 country with a free trade deal with every other G7 country, but at the same time, our greatest advantage is all of you. So, that’s why I wanted to start off by thanking you, because I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t recognized across the industry and around the world that this is a place and you are people worth investing in.

Because let’s be honest, the world is changing and it’s a little bit destabilizing. We see massive shifts going on, leaving aside even the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and the challenges that’s putting on the global energy and food situation, leaving aside the challenges of the pandemic that’s disrupted supply chains and left us with both higher inflation and higher interest rates, there’s a lot of things to be anxious about.

But at the same time, those of us here in Canada have a lot to be optimistic about as well, because our capacity to get through these tough times, well, we’ve demonstrated it years, years, years over the past decades. What do we do when times get tough? We pull together, we lean on each other, we’re there for each other. We roll up our sleeves and we lean in, and that’s what we’re doing right now. That’s what all of you have been doing through some challenging years here in Windsor.

But we’re seeing that that’s starting to pay off now. As we see that the world is shifting towards more reliable partners, towards more responsible partners, Canada is at the front of the line, and that’s what we’re going to continue to work hard to do, and it’s obviously something we’re feeling in the automotive sector. The kinds of investments we’re seeing in the critical minerals, battery supply chain, EV supply chain, and tomorrow, I’m going to be up in Shawinigan, talking about hydrogen investments and talk about charging stations we’re building, we’re seeing the whole meal deal here in Canada.

We go from A to ZEV in Canada, and that capacity to do that is something that we’ve been working on together over these past years. So being able to be here today to highlight that for all Canadians, to show that there are good jobs, good middle class jobs, in the years and decades to come, that people are going to be able to access, in the energy sector, in the natural resources sector, but also in our cities and our services, and those good blue collar jobs that’ll be there as Canada demonstrates that we’re able to step up and deliver more and more of what the world needs.

So, yeah, there’s reasons to be anxious about all the changes going on around us in the world. But there’s also so many reasons to be optimistic about our capacity to do what Canadians have always done: step up and meet the moment, and build a better future, not just for ourselves, for our kids, for our communities, for our country, and yeah, even for the world.

Our capacity as Canadians to respond when we’re going through, rising to challenges, and demonstrating how we will build a better world, starting with our communities here, our workers here, that’s what every country in the world would like to see, but we’re showing that we can do it here in Canada.

You know, last week I returned from a trip to Mexico, where we discussed NAFTA, I talked to President Biden, I talked to President López Obrador from Mexico.

I can tell you the opportunity to sit down with the Mexican President and the American President to talk about how we are building in North America, not just supply chains but value chains that are going to be competitive with the entire world and indeed put forward solutions that the world is needing, is really, really exciting. We’re doing that by sticking up for free trade.

You guys will all remember the uncertainty of a few years ago where we all pulled together, members from labour, members from business. We all pulled together with governments to make the case to protect NAFTA and strengthen it, and we were able to do that, and now, we’re going to continue to do that work as we protected the North American EV supply chain which, of course, was a challenge just last year, and we stood up for steel, we stood up for aluminum. We’re going to continue standing up for workers every step of the way.

So, like I say, I know families are going through tough times right now. I know it’s not always easy, but I also know that you know, that Canadians know, there’s a lot of reasons to be confident about the coming years, to continue being true to who we are, open, optimistic, hardworking, and excited about the challenges and the opportunities that the years ahead are going to bring us.

At every step of the way, we’ll do what we always do: be there for each other, lean on each other, support each other, and show the world how it’s done, and I’m so pleased today to be here to do it with all of you at Stellantis.

Thank you, everyone.

Thank you so much.