Yesterday was Canada Day. Today is Canada Strong Day.
In a more dangerous and divided world, our strategy is to focus on what we can control, by building our strength at home and diversifying our partnerships abroad.
Today, in a series of initiatives, we will catalyse over $150 billion in new investment while advancing our trade agenda across Asia. In all cases, British Columbia is the lynchpin – the gateway to a more prosperous, sustainable, and inclusive Canada.
Thank you Premier Eby for your leadership in making this possible.
The world is more dangerous and divided.
The global trading system is being rewired.
And now, we are facing an energy crisis on three fronts: affordability, security, and climate change.
The good news is that Canada has solutions.
Last month, G7 Leaders called on Canada to provide the reliable energy the world needs. We will do so sustainably and inclusively.
This week, Premier Eby was in China – opening new opportunities for B.C. businesses. And today, President Marcos Jr. of the Philippines begins a State Visit to deepen our economic, security, and cultural ties with his country and across the 500 million residents of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
To seize these opportunities, Canada has to do things differently.
We need to move faster, build bigger, and work together. We must be ambitious, while building sustainably and inclusively.
British Columbia is Canada’s gateway to the world’s fastest-growing markets. B.C.’s grid produces amongst the cleanest, most reliable, and affordable electricity in North America. B.C. leads in the production of gold, zinc, and copper. B.C. has one of the world’s most educated and skilled populations.
On that exceptional foundation, Premier Eby and I are committed to building a stronger, more resilient, and more independent province and country.
Already, one third of the initiatives advancing through the Major Projects Office are from B.C.
To accelerate and broaden that momentum, Premier Eby and I are announcing a landmark Canada-British Columbia Cooperative Prosperity Agreement.
This agreement is comprehensive. It is ambitious. And it will help transform the entire Canadian economy and fund the public services on which all Canadians rely.
This plan will help us unlock our full potential as an energy superpower.
It will accelerate the construction of new transportation corridors and the expansion of existing routes, enabling us to more rapidly export our resources to global markets.
The plan will draw on British Columbia’s highly skilled workforce by expanding training, accelerating recruitment, and boosting the hiring of skilled trades workers.
Lastly, it includes rigorous environmental protection measures and meaningful partnership with First Nations at every stage.
First, Canada and B.C. will work together to accelerate the projects that will unlock Canada’s full potential as a global energy superpower – starting with LNG.
By 2040, global LNG demand is expected to rise by 60%, particularly to replace high-emission coal generation and to balance grids increasingly powered by renewables.
Canada can become the preferred supplier.
The federal government will work with private sector proponents, communities, and First Nations to accelerate the permitting, financing, and construction of major LNG projects in B.C. This will include LNG Canada, Ksi Lisims, the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission Project, Cedar, and Woodfibre.
These projects will more than triple Canada’s LNG production over the next decade and reach new markets in Asia and Europe. All built with low-emissions and in full partnership with First Nations.
Second, we will support the development of the power, mining, and trade infrastructure needed to unlock Northern B.C.’s full economic potential, in an environmentally sustainable way.
On power, the federal government will provide $3.9 billion for Phases 1 and 2 of the North Coast Transmission Line to deliver clean, reliable, and affordable electricity to communities and projects in the region.
On mining, we will invest $500 million to expand the Red Chris Mine – which will increase Canada’s annual copper production by more than 15%, reinforcing Canada’s position as the reliable critical mineral supplier of choice and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over 70%.
On sustainability and conservation, we will create a new conservation area the size of Greece, consistent with Canada’s commitment to preserve 30% of our lands by 2030. And we will invest in new clean energy across the province, with a particular focus on developing the wind turbine manufacturing sector in B.C.
We are improving our energy transmission networks and advancing new wind energy projects to unlock our full potential as a global energy superpower. We are also building the trade infrastructure needed to get our resources to new markets around the world.
The Port of Vancouver moves $1 billion in trade every single day with 170 countries, and more cargo than the next five largest Canadian ports combined.
But success is now straining capacity, and bottlenecks are worsening. Ships wait to load their cargo. It takes too long to get imported goods to Canadians. That slows our trade, loses new business to the U.S., increases prices here at home, and holds our economy back.
We’re committed to changing that as part of Canada’s mission to double our non-U.S. exports over the next decade. The Government of Canada will support $10 billion in major infrastructure upgrades to expand capacity at the Roberts Bank Terminal. This will unlock over $100 billion in new trade capacity and add approximately $3 billion to Canada’s economy every year.
The potential of this expansion for the Canadian economy will rival the contribution of the St. Lawrence Seaway.
While we make it easier to move trade, we will make life easier for commuters. In partnership with B.C., the federal government will provide up to $3 billion for the George Massey Tunnel Replacement Project. This will replace the aging four-lane transport tunnel along Highway 99 with a modern eight-lane tunnel – enabling Canada to export more of what we produce, faster, while connecting the economy of the Lower Mainland as a whole.
In parallel, we will work with port authorities and First Nations to maximise the potential of the ports of Prince Rupert and Stewart. These ports will serve as vital trade corridors for Canadian critical minerals and other resources, providing much needed capacity for a growing B.C. economy.
British Columbians and Canadians have always understood that it’s not just about what we build, but also how we build.
That is why we will build sustainably, by establishing a new National Carbon Credit Framework to build carbon markets that work and expanding B.C.’s clean grid to where it can have the greatest impact.
Through Canada’s $250 million investment in the Whales Initiative, we will reinforce existing protections for Canada’s whales – including the Southern Resident Killer Whale habitat along B.C.’s Coast.
And we will strengthen protections for coastal ecosystems by preventing oil spills and strengthening marine conservation through the Oceans Protection Plan.
In addition, the conditions for the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 expansion will include detailed measures to protect the habitats of killer whales.
We are also clear that today’s Canada-B.C. agreement commits to maintaining the federal North Coast tanker ban, in accordance with the proposed route of a new trans-provincial pipeline under the bilateral agreement between Canada and Alberta.
We will build inclusively, in true partnership with First Nations – including those here alongside the Salish Sea. That means Indigenous ownership to give communities a direct stake in the project and deliver durable economic benefits. The scale of these opportunities is unprecedented, and we are committed that our agreement will provide the model for the future.
We will build in solidarity with B.C. workers. Through the Team Canada Strong initiative, we will create up to 100,000 skilled trades apprenticeships. Through this agreement, we will also provide over $630 million for affordable childcare in B.C., so more British Columbians can participate in Canada’s growing economy.
And we will build Canadian by prioritising Canadian materials, including B.C. lumber, steel, and critical minerals.
There is a long, proud history of building in this province. That has brought great prosperity, but in retrospect, hasn’t always been done in the best way.
Let me give a personal example, my grandfather worked in the 1930s and 1940s in the Anaconda copper mine at Britannia Beach, which at its peak provided nearly one fifth of the world’s supply.
It created great prosperity, but it was foreign owned. Workers in that mine weren’t always treated fairly, First Nations were excluded, and the environmental impact was largely ignored.
This time, we are building in the right way.
In solidarity with workers, in full partnership with First Nations, and sustainably, in a way that protects our lands and waters for generations to come.
Today’s landmark agreement is about building a Canada that works for all.
That’s Canada strong.
Thank you.