Good afternoon, everyone. Let me begin by thanking Premier Lantz, thanking the Council of the Federation for bringing us together for a very productive meeting of First Ministers. 

This was our 14^th meeting since last March and the 5^th time we have met in person. At a time when the world is more divided and uncertain, we are choosing to come together. We are choosing to build together.

We’re in Charlottetown, so I will hearken back to Confederation, where more than 160 years ago, the Charlottetown Conference laid the foundation of this country: many advantages, we look back, though, as well, we recognise that founding was imperfect. It excluded too many, but it laid the stones on which we can build. And in generations since, Canadians have improved upon it, extending the promise of this country to those it once left out and to those whom we have welcomed to our shores. 

And we have defended it through crises and tests. We face tests today. As everyone knows, on Monday, the U.S. administration announced its intention to impose the latest in a series of unilateral and unwarranted trade actions. Let’s be clear about how Canada is responding. Yes, we are intensifying our negotiations with the United States in pursuit of a comprehensive agreement that addresses all tariff-related sectors.

In all circumstances, irrespective of the outcome of those negotiations, Canada will do whatever it takes to build our strength at home and to support Canadian families, workers, our farmers, our businesses. We’re ready. We’re ready because we have been focusing on what we can control, and that’s building our strength at home, buying Canadian, backing Canadian workers, building Canadians. That’s the resolve of Canadians. That’s the foundation on which we’re building. We’re a reliable partner in a world that’s anything but. So, we’re diversifying our partnerships abroad. The First Ministers at this table have been central to that effort. Provincial premiers have led more than 50 trade missions, more than 50 trade missions since we last met in person in January and over 130 since I became prime minister. 

Our government, the federal government, has signed more than 20 new economic and security partnerships, because Canada has what the world wants and Canada believes in the benefits of free and fair trade. We’re also ready because of what we know in our bones: that our unity is our greatest strength and our destiny is in our hands. 

It is in that spirit that we have come together today. We are taking action to ensure that our energy grid is more affordable, more competitive, and more secure. We are accelerating major projects that will transform our economy for generations. We are breaking down barriers to labour mobility and internal trade, and we will continue to work together, with determination and strength, to protect Canadian workers and families, and to advance our national interests. 

Now, we spent a fair bit of time today, in addition to talking about trade, to discussing an electricity strategy. For example, the purpose of our upcoming… the purpose of the National Electricity Strategy is to double our grid’s capacity and to deliver clean, reliable, and affordable power to every part of the country. Lower energy costs. Greater energy security. Fewer emissions. Building a strong, connected grid is how we will achieve all of those objectives at once. And there’s already examples: this morning, our government announced an investment in new subsea power cables across the Northumberland Strait between New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. I thank premiers Lantz and Holt for their leadership on that. This is the kind of project that’s been needed for years. It’s the kind of project we need to build up more and more quickly.

In addition, today, premiers Holt, Houston, and Lantz signed an agreement to plan and operate their electricity systems together, and the federal government will support that work, increasing reliability, lowering costs, increasing competitiveness for Maritimes.

Now, becoming an energy superpower, delivering those benefits for Canadians, means more than just a connected grid. It means getting big things built in every part of the country. The agreements between the federal government and the Government of British Columbia, the agreement with the Government of Alberta, clear the path for major projects in both provinces. Projects in clean and conventional energy, in transportation, critical minerals. Projects that, by themselves, just by themselves in these two agreements, will catalyse well over $200 billion in direct investments in Canada, creating almost 200,000 new jobs right across the country. Benefits shared wisely, benefits shared with the Indigenous peoples as full partners, and creating resources for the social programs on which Canadians rely.

This, all of these examples, and they’re examples of a bigger picture of cooperative federalism at work, and we are just getting started.

And now, to stay competitive, we must ensure that the foundation is solid. Canada must stimulate investments in both the clean energy and conventional energy sectors. Our carbon markets must also be designed to attract investments, reduce emissions over time, and keep our industries globally competitive. And our government will work with the provinces and territories to update a carbon pricing model.

We also are acting to take down barriers that we’ve built, that exist within this economy. Today, we agreed to work towards agreement in principle, to adopt model mutual recognition, to build one Canadian market, to let Canadians work wherever their skills are needed, drawing on the best advantages of provincial legislation. The Committee on Internal Trade will begin that work this summer. If we get this right, a nurse licensed in Ontario who moves to Nova Scotia will be able to start caring for patients right away. A manufacturer in B.C., who’s already approved to sell engineered wood for homes in Alberta, will be able to sell it anywhere in Canada, instead of waiting years for that. It’s workers and goods moving freely, growing our prosperity.

Final point. As first ministers, we share a fundamental responsibility, which is to keep Canadians safe. And Premier Ford, when you hosted us last year in Muskoka, we had a robust discussion, a series of reforms that were needed to the Criminal Code, measures to improve community safety. So, we have strengthened the Criminal Code. The federal level passed six laws to combat crime, give law enforcement the tools they need, toughen bail, toughen sentencing. And today, we endorsed a practical joint action plan to continue to make communities safer, building on the progress we’ve made over the last year.

To conclude, we came to Charlottetown as first ministers with a shared purpose, which is to build a stronger, more prosperous, more independent, more resilient, and united Canada. In a moment when others would choose to divide, we choose to build. This is the federation working as it should. This is why Canada is ready. We’ll continue meeting and keep delivering until the job is done to build Canada strong.