Thank you, Tamara, Chief Wayne Sparrow, Chief Justin Sky George, and Wilson Williams.

I also want to thank Bridgitte and the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade for bringing us together this morning.

This room understands what it takes to build – a business, an industry, an economy.

I know everyone here has a lot to do and not a lot of time, so ahead of my conversation with Bridgitte, I’ll spend just a few minutes highlighting some aspects of our government’s economic agenda.

Our government was elected to build a stronger, more independent, more resilient Canadian economy. More than ever, energy is central to that mission. 

The world is now facing a three-dimensional energy crisis:

• the immediate challenge of affordability – and, in some countries, availability;
• the structural challenge of energy security; and
• the existential challenge of climate change and the transition to net-zero.

Canadians too are feeling the impacts – at their kitchen tables, at the pumps, on their factory floors.

The good news is that – unlike many countries – Canada can be part of the solution.

For the world. And for ourselves.

That’s the strategic opportunity I want to focus on this morning.

Canada is becoming the low-risk, low-cost, low-carbon supplier the world needs.

As the head of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, said earlier this month, Canada has a “golden opportunity” – with “many cards to play.”

And much of that hand is held here in B.C., with the lowest-carbon conventional energy, including LNG Canada Phase 2 which can double our output, Ksi Lisims, Cedar, and more.

Canada is at the heart of the energy transition: in critical minerals, in the nuclear sector, from uranium to CANDU reactors and small modular reactors, in carbon capture and storage, as well as in the hydrogen and geothermal sectors.

In an uncertain world, countries are choosing their partners on the rarest of commodities: trust. Canada is a stable, reliable partner in a world that is anything but.

Our strategic value as a reliable, low-carbon energy provider is unlocking markets for Canadian products and investments across the board – making us more independent, more resilient, and more prosperous.

Our sovereignty, sustainability, and prosperity depend on our ability to supply and control our energy, particularly electricity.

As our industries expand, our economy grows, and AI accelerates, electricity demand in Canada is expected to double by 2050.

So we will double Canada’s electricity generation.

Because electrification underpins everything – affordability, our emissions, our environment, our economy.

We start from a position of strength. Led by B.C., Canada has among the lowest electricity costs in the world.

We must extend that advantage.

Doubling the capacity of our national electricity grid will require significant investments, interconnecting provincial grids, and distributing costs over several years so that today’s consumers are not alone in bearing the cost of investments that will benefit Canadians and the planet for decades to come.

This requires a reform of the permitting system, new partnerships with Indigenous Peoples, and a willingness to leverage all available sources of energy.

Doubling our grid will deliver – actually deliver rather than just promise – on our climate change objectives, because by far the biggest emissions prize is reducing emissions affordably through electrification — not pursuing absolute purity in generation.

Aggressive electrification can reduce total emissions by five times the emissions reductions in the electricity sector.

To be clear, there is no credible plan to net-zero without a relentless focus on affordability.

That’s why we intend to adjust the Clean Electricity Regulations – keeping energy reliable and affordable in the short term as we shift to cleaner energy over time.

And that’s why we will expand support for energy-saving retrofits for up to one million households – through financing, grants, and complementary measures – making it easier for Canadians to transition from expensive propane, oil, and electric baseboard heating to more affordable electric heat pumps.

With the right investments, seven in ten Canadian households will pay less for their total energy by 2050 – $15 billion back in their pockets.

In a rapidly changing world, Canada must become the source of our own affordable, clean, reliable power.

Because when we master energy, we master our destiny.

What does this mean for B.C.?

First, large federal incentives to build more transmission and clean generation, with aggressive investment tax credits, supportive financing, coordinated environmental assessments, and the financing of Indigenous equity participation.

Second, providing interconnections to promote affordability and resilience. A prime example is the Northwest Critical Conservation Corridor, which we referred to the Major Projects Office in November. The Corridor includes a link to Yukon’s isolated grid, interconnections for new hydro and renewables, while creating a new conservation area the size of Greece and unlocking billions in critical minerals investment in the Golden Triangle.

A potential Alberta-B.C. intertie would deliver nearly $2 billion net economic benefits by 2050 – generated through savings in efficiency, cheaper fuel, and new investment.

Third, accelerating the development of critical minerals. From Nouveau Monde Graphite in Québec – the largest graphite mine and processing facility in the G7 – to the Red Chris Mine expansion here in B.C., Canada has the resources the world needs. 

To develop them, Canada’s new government has signed 56 critical minerals agreements with more than 10 countries over the past year – unlocking over $18 billion in investment.

Fourth, developing our workforce. Doubling the grid will create nearly 30,000 new high-paying jobs by 2028 – and another 100,000 by 2050. Through Team Canada Strong – a new $6 billion nationwide effort – we will recruit, train, and hire up to 100,000 new Red Seal tradespeople over the next five years.

Fifth, working with partners. 

Which brings me to the Federal government’s agreement with Alberta.

Building on November’s MOU, Canada and Alberta last week signed an Implementation Agreement covering regulation, markets, methane, renewables, and carbon capture.

It commits Alberta to methane reductions of 75% below 2014 levels by 2035.

It creates a carbon market that actually works, raising the effective carbon price 6.5 times by 2040, with binding annual benchmarks, and reinforced by 75 million tonnes of Carbon Contracts for Difference. Ottawa and Edmonton have significant skin in the game.

In the weeks ahead, we will engage British Columbia and all provinces and territories on changes to the federal carbon pricing benchmark to align with these new commitments.

As you may have heard, we are also advancing a potential pipeline to transport at least one million barrels a day of low-emission Alberta oil to Asian markets. 

This pipeline would only be advanced with the following prerequisites: 

First, the building of Pathways – the world’s largest carbon capture, utilisation, and storage project – making Albertan oil among the lowest carbon-intensity barrels produced anywhere.

Second, recognising that British Columbians should share substantial economic and financial benefits from projects that include or impact them.

And third, fully respecting Canada’s duty to consult under section 35 of the Constitution. 

That includes whether to designate a project in the national interest, the conditions placed on the project, and ensuring Indigenous economic benefits, partnerships and opportunities for co-ownership.

Energy is a key lever in diversifying our export markets and thereby increasing our prosperity, resilience and independence.

To that end, we have signed more than 20 economic and security agreements on five continents in less than a year. This year, we are moving forward on major trade pacts with India, ASEAN, Mercosur, Thailand and the Philippines.

Our current trading partners, Korea and Japan, are looking to increase their energy supply while strengthening their strategic trade and investment ties.

Our objective is to double our non-U.S. exports this decade – over $300 billion in new orders for Canadian resources, goods, and expertise.

We need trade corridors to match. And nowhere is that more important than here.

The Port of Vancouver alone handles more cargo than the next five largest Canadian ports combined: $1 billion in trade every single day, with 170 countries.

In order to double our non-U.S. exports, we need to grow the capacity of this port — and the rail, road, and airport infrastructure of the Lower Mainland that feeds it.

That requires ambition, investment and partnership.

These are among the issues that I look forward to discussing with Premier Eby later today.

In a rapidly changing world, Canada is focused on what we can control.

So while we leverage our energy advantage, we are building a more competitive economy.

We have cut taxes on income and capital gains for millions of Canadians. 

We introduced a Productivity Super-Deduction to make Canada the most tax-competitive country in the G7 for new investment – more than four points lower than the United States. And we are expanding Investment Tax Credits for clean electricity, clean manufacturing, and critical minerals.

Major global investors now rank Canada as the most attractive country in the world for infrastructure investment. 

Foreign investment into Canada has reached its highest level in two decades – running at twice the rate of our nearest G7 competitor. 

Non-U.S. exports are up sharply, tracking to double over the next decade.

We are getting big things done. 22 nation-building projects and strategies have been referred to the Major Projects Office — one-third of them here in British Columbia.

LNG Canada Phase 2 and Ksi Lisims are moving forward.

Construction has started at Contrecœur and Darlington. We broke ground yesterday on Nouveau Monde Graphite. The Mackenzie Valley Highway launches this summer. 

And we are just getting started.

Building B.C. strong so we can build Canada strong – for all.

I look forward to the conversation.

Thank you.