My dear friends, my dear colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, this ground, this ground holds memory. In the 18^th century, two armies met here in a battle that changed the course of this continent forever. When the smoke cleared, both commanders lay dying—Wolfe and Montcalm—their fates intertwined even in death. New France had fallen. British North America had begun. 

It would have been easy—even expected—for the story to end there. The familiar pattern of conquest: the vanquished absorbed, their language suppressed, their faith proscribed, their laws replaced. That is what conquerors had done for millennia. From the Great Deportation of the Acadians to the Durham Report following the Patriotes’ Rebellion, there were efforts by some to impose that model—assimilation, the familiar logic of conquest. But in the end, that is not the path Canada took. 

And why? First, through the resilience of Francophones. A resilience sometimes quiet, often combative, but always determined to preserve a language, a culture, and an identity. Then, through pragmatism. British authorities quickly understood that one does not govern 70,000 people against their will, especially with unstable American colonies to the south.

And so, throughout our country’s history, decisions were taken to build something different here, together. It was never a straight line. Progress came through tension, compromise, and sometimes failure. But again and again, Canada chose a different path.

And from that choice, initially practical, even self-interested, something remarkable emerged. Not a myth, not a miracle, but a growing commitment that coexistence could make us stronger, that we can build an identity which not only respects our differences, but also celebrates them.

A bold project: that two peoples—recently enemies, speaking different languages, practising different religions, living under different legal traditions, could share a single country—and build it together.

The Canadian philosopher Charles Taylor contends that people aren’t blank slates, but that our identities, personal and national, are constituted through history. In his words, “the past sedimented in the present” and our choices are shaped by what came before. 

Our country was built on the bedrock of three peoples: Indigenous, French and British. Long before the battle on these plains, long before the first French ships sailed up the St. Lawrence, Indigenous peoples were the original stewards of this land. They built nations, trading networks and systems of governance that spanned the entire continent. The Haudenosaunee, the Anishinaabe, the Wendat and the Innu shaped this land and were shaped by it. 

Then the French came. They built a new society adapted to the realities of North America, shaped by the river and forest, by trade with Indigenous Nations, and by the determination to survive and flourish in this land. When the British came, that civilization did not disappear; it endured. And now it thrives.

Confederation was born of this history. One of its fathers, George-Étienne Cartier, said at the time that Canadians were “of different races, not for the purpose of warring against each other, but in order to compete and emulate for the general welfare,” living as “great families beside each other.” That pact was renewed when Wilfrid Laurier governed a country that had once conquered his people. It was renewed with the advent of official bilingualism. It was renewed when Quebecers chose, twice, to remain within Canada out of... out of a judgment that this partnership, for all its frustrations, was worth not just preserving, but building. 

The Plains of Abraham mark a battlefield, yes, but they also mark the place where Canada began to make its founding choice of accommodation over assimilation, of partnership over domination, of building together over pulling apart. Yes, that founding was imperfect. It excluded too many. It was built, in part, on the dispossession of, and broken treaties with, Indigenous Peoples. But that founding contained the fundamental insight that unity does not require uniformity, that we can share a country without conforming to a single identity, that our differences, honestly acknowledged and respectfully navigated, are a source of strength.

That choice echoes down through our history. To choices made by newcomers from every corner of the world to make Canada their home. Choices made by each generation determined to keep building—not on blood or soil—but on something more demanding and more durable: a shared commitment to live together, to accommodate differences, to pursue the common good. And with each of these choices, Canada has become richer, more inclusive, and fairer.

What makes Canada a great country? It’s a great country for everyone. It’s the greatest country in the world to be a regular person. You don’t have to be born rich or to a landed family here. You don’t have to be a certain colour or worship a certain God. Canadians believe in the value of every other Canadian, their boundless potential to make this great country even better. Our ancestors, despite their differences, believed in each other and in us. 

Now, there are long periods of history where these values can prosper unchallenged; ours is not one of them. Our values must be fought for. That’s what we are doing, that’s what Canadians want. Canadians are up for it. Our history traces an arc of broadening inclusion from biculturalism to multiculturalism, from being British subjects to becoming Canadian citizens, from being two founding peoples to being many people living in true partnership with Indigenous peoples.

From William Lyon Mackenzie King’s social citizenship to Louis St-Laurent’s Liberal internationalism, from Diefenbaker's ‘One Canada’ to Pierre Elliott Trudeau’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Brian Mulroney’s environmentalism to Justin Trudeau’s pluralism and reconciliation, each generation of Canadians has built a modern, progressive liberal state that embraces the values of caring and sharing, of equity and fairness for all. Institutions make up the body of that progressive state, but our values are at its heart. Institutions from the Civil Code to public health care, from modern self-government agreements to Parliaments’ recognition of the Quebec people as a nation. Values of inclusivity, fairness, solidarity, sustainability and ambition. 

Canadians are inclusive, we know our country is stronger when everyone belongs, when newcomers are welcome, when minorities are protected, when Indigenous peoples are true partners. That commitment to inclusion was institutionalized, first in the Bill of Rights and then embedded in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It was manifest in our adoption of multiculturalism, first as policy and then as law. In the same spirit, the enshrinement into law of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples reflects our fundamental commitment to reconciliation and to respecting Indigenous peoples as equal partners in building our country together.

And inclusion means going beyond the protection of rights to the commitment to creating a society in which everyone can flourish. That’s why we introduced the Combating Hate Act to preserve the freedom of people to practise their faith and culture without intimidation, harassment or violence.

Canadians look out for each other, especially in difficult times. And this spirit of solidarity inspired the foundations of the modern social welfare state in the wake of the Great Depression, including Unemployment Insurance and Family Allowances and Old Age Security. New institutional pillars of solidarity were added with the creation of the Canada Pension Plan and the Canada Health Act.

I am proud, you are proud, that we have extended these foundations in recent years with national dental care, child care, pharmacare, and the National School Food Program. In Canada, we are strongest when we are united—when we look out for each other and ensure that no child, no family, no one is left behind. This spirit of solidarity and generosity helps define us as a nation.

Canadians believe that fairness includes equality of opportunity so that every Canadian has a shot at a good and fulfilling life. And the foundation of this commitment is access of every Canadian to comparable public services, particularly education and health care. These commitments were institutionalised when equalization was first introduced in 1950, and then embedded in our Constitution in 1982. And by protecting services like child care, dental care, pharmacare, we strengthen the sense of security that Canadians rely on every day. A strong and united Canada stands up for families and workers and protects those who are most vulnerable, whether they’re a newcomer, a person with a disability, or a member of 2SLGBTQI+ community,

Now, friends, the advent of artificial intelligence will simultaneously challenge fairness, inclusion, and solidarity while it creates enormous opportunities for how we live, work, and play. And these tensions can only be reconciled if AI works for all. AI can provide powerful solutions; better health care, better education, better government services. It can empower Canadians with new skills for more fulfilling jobs. But realising that potential will require fundamental reforms to our education system, how we do skills training, and to our social welfare system. Our upcoming AI for All Strategy will begin to tackle these challenges to maximise the potential of AI for all Canadians.

Sustainability is fairness across generations. Canadians are stewards of a vast and precious land. We have acted to protect it through international treaties such as the Acid Rain Treaty and the 2015 Paris Agreement, and through our steady progress to conserve our natural heritage, in keeping with our commitments at the Montréal COP in 2022.

In the coming months, our government will move forward with ambitious new plans to bolster sustainability at home, drive down energy bills for families and businesses, and protect Canada’s vast nature.

Canada is ambitious. Canada is an ambitious nation of builders and explorers. We mapped this continent before the Americans had even left St. Louis. We built a transcontinental railway in five years, the St. Lawrence Seaway in four. We created a health care system that became a model for the world. This government, Canada’s new government, shares that ambition. We’ve already removed all federal barriers to interprovincial trade, and we’re catalysing hundreds of billions of dollars of investments in nation-building projects. We’re doubling our defence spending by the end of this decade, and we’re working to ensure that core Canadian capabilities, including in AI, in quantum, in cyber, and critical minerals, will maximise the economic benefit for Canadians of these new security imperatives. Now, we need to execute fairly and fast.

Canadian values—of inclusion, solidarity, fairness, sustainability, and ambition—are not abstract ideals on paper, but practical guides that are bred in the bone. Our task is to draw on them to keep building during these revolutionary times. In times like these, Canada must be two things at once. First, a bastion of safety, security, and prosperity for all Canadians. We must defend our sovereignty, secure our borders, protect our communities, and build an economy that delivers opportunity for every Canadian.

That’s why we’re undertaking the strongest tightening of the criminal justice system in generations. It’s why we’re making the largest investment in defence in generations. It’s why we’re securing our borders through more CBSA agents and greater surveillance resources. And it’s why we’re building one Canadian economy and launching nation-building projects that will connect and transform our country. We will give ourselves far more than any foreign government can ever take from us.

A core mission while we’re doing that, a core mission of our government is to lower costs for Canadians. That’s why on day one, we cancelled the divisive Consumer Carbon Tax. That’s why we’ve cut income taxes for 22 million Canadians. It’s why we’ve cut taxes for first time homebuyers. It’s why we reduced tolls on the Confederation Bridge and Atlantic ferry fares. It’s why we’re launched, and we have launched Build Canada Homes to build affordable housing construction at a pace not seen since the end of the Second World War.

This past fall, we launched the automatic federal benefits for up to five and a half million low-income Canadians to ensure that our most vulnerable get the money to which they are entitled. We also made the National School Food Program permanent so that kids have the nutrition they need at school. We’ve started, as we mean to go on, with a relentless focus on improving affordability to help Canadians get ahead.

I said we had to do two things. The second is-… the first is to be a bastion, the second is to be a beacon, an example to a world that’s at sea. In a time of rising populism and ethnic nationalism, Canada can show how diversity is a strength, not a weakness. In a time of democratic decline, we can show how rights can be protected and equal freedoms endure. In a time of rising walls and thickening borders, we can demonstrate how a country can be both open and secure, welcoming and strong, principled and powerful. 

There are literally billions of people who aspire to what we have built, a pluralistic society that works, a public square that’s loud, diverse and free, an economy that delivers broadly shared prosperity, a democracy that chooses to protect the most vulnerable against the powerful. Now, Canada can’t solve all the world’s problems, but we can show that another way is possible, that the arc of history isn’t destined to be warped toward authoritarianism and exclusion, it can still bend toward progress and justice.

(Applause)

We are under no illusions. The world is more dangerous and divided. Old alliances are being recast and, in some cases, abandoned. In this new era, Canadian leadership will be defined not just by the strength of our values, but also by the value of our strength. We are undertaking the largest buildup in our military and security capabilities since the Second World War. 

We have the resources the world needs. We have the talent to transform that potential into growth, and we have the ambition to match the challenges of our new age. We are building our strength at home and increasing our resilience by diversifying our partnerships abroad through a variable geometry that defends our values and advances our interests.

So, let me return to where I began, where Canada began. 267 years ago, this ground was soaked with blood. Two empires had collided, one had prevailed, and the question was what will come next? The answer that emerged slowly, imperfectly, not without struggle, but unmistakably, was cooperation. Partnership, a shared future. 

That response was not inevitable; that response was chosen. Chosen by British administrators who eventually saw the wisdom of cooperation. Chosen by French Canadians, who eventually committed to build within the new reality. Chosen by the founders of Confederation, who believed that two peoples could become partners in one country, and chosen by every subsequent generation who built on that foundation.

Our past is sedimented in our present. In our two official languages. In our federal system. In our expanding understanding of who belongs. We are now the stewards of this inheritance, and it is our responsibility–our opportunity—to build upon it.

In this time of great consequence, we are choosing. We are choosing to work together to build one Canadian economy. We’ve made great progress over the past year, now we have to redouble our efforts with the provinces and territories. We’re choosing to find new markets and develop new partnerships. We’ve announced a dozen new economic and security partnerships across four continents in the last six months, more will come, all will deepen. We choose to build in solidarity with Canadian workers, creating hundreds of thousands of good-paying union jobs, and investing in apprenticeships and skills training so that young Canadians can have the careers of tomorrow.

We’re choosing to build Canadian—with Canadian workers, materials, and technologies. We will be our own best customer. To build sustainably, because we know that addressing climate change is both a moral duty and an economic imperative.

We’re choosing to build inclusively, in full partnership with Indigenous peoples, inclusively to ensure that AI benefits all Canadians. To respect diversity, to accept others and to combat hate, so that every Canadian feels free to be themselves and can thrive in the greatest country on earth. 

When we live our values, we grow as individuals and we build as a people. When we’re kind, kindness grows. When we’re united, unity grows. When we’re Canadian, inclusive, fair, ambitious, Canada grows. Canada… Canada and the United States have built a remarkable partnership, in the economy, in security, and in rich cultural exchange. But Canada doesn’t live because of the United States; Canada thrives because we are Canadian.

(Applause)

We are masters in our own house. This is our country. This is our future. The choice is ours.

We choose to build a bright future worthy of the ground on which we stand. We choose Canada. 

Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you.

(Applause)