What an honour and pleasure to be here in Mirabel with you, Premier Fréchette, Mayor Therrien, the Minister of Industry, Quebec Minister Drainville, my parliamentary colleagues, members of the National Assembly of Quebec, and the innovators and workers here at Airbus. It’s incredible.

It’s so good to be here, it's so much fun, and I only have five minutes. No, I have a little more but I'm going to be… I want to provide a bit of context because I'm going to pick up on a few things that Tony said much better than me because he's lived it, but we're here today because of the combined power of entrepreneurs, of builders, and, yes, of governments, governments that have fallen on the brilliant side of that line between brilliance and stupidity, I'd like to think, the power that's building a stronger, more resilient, more independent Canada, a power that's deepening the links between Canada and ASEAN, very important point, deepening the links between Canada and ASEAN to the benefit of our workers, our families, our tourists, our businesspeople, and the very first link in that chain is the entrepreneur, the risk-taker, the builder. And so, let me salute Tony Fernandes who is an entrepreneur extraordinaire who took the risk, took a series of risks, and that's why we're all gathered today for a brighter future.

And Tony and I have known each other for a bit but when we last saw each other was in October in Kuala Lumpur for ASEAN, and we were discussing the various crises that we'd been through in the past, financial crises, COVID, and we discussed how best to respond to a world that’s changing even more dramatically in many respects than then, and we shared a vision of deepening ties between those countries that, in this crisis that we're still living through, are choosing to build in the face of adversity, countries that have the confidence to open up, to link their economies, to invest in their workers, to move forward, not turn back, and I emphasized to Tony that Canada is once again building big at home and creating reliable partnerships abroad, including very much with ASEAN. So, Tony, thank you. Thank you for the trust you’re placing in Canadian workers in Quebec, in Mirabel. You're choosing the best at exactly the right time.

And thank you for recognizing, as you did in your words, the Canadian entrepreneurs and risk-takers including Pierre Beaudoin who created the C series, that terrible plane apparently, transformed immediately overnight.

The C series, the predecessor of the A220, and thank you, above all, to the workers and builders at Airbus that are now making it happen.

Thank you. Thank you, Lars. Thank you, Guillaume, and the team at Airbus of your leadership. Above all, thank you to the workers here in Mirabel and across Canada who are building Canada’s excellence in aviation. Canada has always been a nation of builders. In the past, for instance, in February 1909, a young engineer by the name of J.A.D. McCurdy, lifted off from the frozen surface of Bras d'Or Lake. It was the first powered flight in Canada’s history – and the first in the entire British Empire. McCurdy was a builder and a daring man. He dedicated himself to projects that others considered impossible, notably, the first flight between Florida and Cuba. In 1928, McCurdy stepped away from his feats of aviation to build the industry. He settled in Montréal and founded Reid Aircraft, one of Quebec’s first major aeronautical manufacturers. The facility he developed became Canadair, then Bombardier, (inaudible) that gave us the C Series, which has since become A220 that stands as a point of pride. Currently, this aerospace industry employs over 60,000 workers and contributes about 15 billion dollars annually to our economy. The same conviction – that ambition and drive can change the course of a nation – is what we call upon today.

So, today, consistent with the conversation we had those few months ago amidst this global turmoil. Canada, Quebec, we're focused on what we can control. We're building our strength at home. We're diversifying our trade with reliable partners abroad. We're catalyzing, across Canada, a trillion dollars in total investment over the next five years across clean and conventional energy, trade corridors, critical minerals, A.I., aerospace, defence, and beyond. We're helping to transform and train our workforce, including through last week's announcement of a $6 billion investment in Team Canada Strong to recruit, to train, to hire over 100,000 new skilled trades workers in the next five years. 

And we are also supporting, thanks to the Minister of Industry, we are also supporting workers and businesses impacted by the unjustified U.S. tariffs. We have put forward a one-billion-dollar funding program for the steel, aluminum, and copper industries, together with a 500-million-dollar regional response supporting every sector of the economy – including 105 million dollars for Quebec. 

We're creating new opportunities for Canadian businesses through more than 20 economic and security partnerships that we've signed on five continents in less than a year. We're working towards concluding comprehensive free trade agreements with India, with Thailand, the Philippines, Mercosur, and above all, ASEAN, this year. Foreign direct investment into Canada is already at its highest level in nearly two decades. It's running at twice the rate, on a per capita basis, as our nearest G7 competitor, and we're just getting started.

Just like you. Just like Tony.

Partners around the world see what Canada is building and the certainty and stability we can provide. Businesses are choosing Canada because we have what the world wants. Quebec has what the world wants.

And here in Mirabel, workers and innovators are building what the world wants. I am very pleased; I am so pleased that AirAsia is moving forward with the single-largest order of Canadian-designed aircraft in history This agreement, as Lars mentioned, this agreement will be a game-changer for Quebec’s dynamic and world-leading aerospace manufacturing. For thousands of engineers, electricians, steel welders, and IT specialists, it will mean high-paying and rewarding work and an opportunity to build a world class aircraft – one that will connect millions of people to more opportunities, more destinations, and more time with their loved ones.

The A220 300 is a showcase of Canadian ingenuity, lower fuel consumption, reduced emissions, smaller noise footprint, advanced propulsion system, lightweight materials, cutting-edge aerodynamics, built, and you said Lars, as everyone here knows, with a clean sheet design. I know that it was built with a clean sheet design. I have no idea what that means but it says that right there.

I have an idea. I do have an idea. I don't really know, developed by scratch by Canadian workers.

With more than 5,000 highly skilled workers, Canada hosts Airbus’s most comprehensive A220 program site outside Europe. It has been a resounding success.

Since 2016, Airbus' Canadian workforce has more than doubled. You've harnessed world-class Canadian talent across engineering, computer science, aeronautics, and including through deep collaborations with our institutions, including McGill, University of Waterloo, many others. This facility, this Mirabel facility, is a cornerstone of that success, combining engineering, advanced research, administration, final assembly in one integrated operation, but it's also important to recognize that behind every aircraft assembled here is a broader network of suppliers, builders, technicians, innovators across the country, steelworkers fulfilling new orders with the certainty of a stable paycheck, engineering graduates knowing they have the first opportunity to apply their skills, students knowing they should go into engineering to be part of this industry, mechanics who transform blueprints into the industrial marvels we see on the floor all working together to deliver world-class aircraft. In the end, as at the beginning, it's the entrepreneurs who imagine, the workers who build, and the governments, including very much the Government of Quebec, the governments who back them. That's how Canada and Quebec win. That is what the world is choosing today.

And this is how we are building a stronger, more independent, and more resilient economy. We are building Mirabel strong and Quebec strong to build Canada strong for all. Thank you very much. Congratulations (inaudible).