As we look back at the third year of our mandate, it’s fair to say that we were busy.

We put a price on pollution, moved forward with a plan that will both protect our environment and help Canadians as we move to a clean economy.

We negotiated a new NAFTA, preserving and modernizing trade with our North American partners.

We introduced new competitiveness measures to attract investment to Canada and ensure that existing businesses are even better positioned to compete on the world stage.

And we welcomed the single largest private sector investment in Canada’s history, a 40 billion dollar liquid natural gas project led by Shell, a project that will create 10,000 good jobs.

But that’s not all.

Canada also held the G7 presidency in 2018. At our Leaders’ Summit in Charlevoix, we secured 3.8 billion dollars in funding to support education for women and girls in crisis and conflict zones. And at the UN General Assembly, we welcomed additional contributions to education totalling more than 527 million dollars.

In partnership with Indigenous communities and investors, we got the rail line back up and running to the people of Churchill, Manitoba.

And this year, we delivered on a major promise from 2015 by legalizing and strictly regulating cannabis. This long-awaited reform will help us better protect the health and safety of Canadians, ensure that cannabis stays out of the hands of young people and keep the profits away from criminals and organized crime.

Finally, our government launched Canada’s first (removed -ever) Poverty Reduction Strategy. This strategy includes major investments in housing, increases to the Guaranteed Income Supplement top-up for seniors who live alone, the Canada Child Benefit, the Canada Workers Benefit, and investments in early learning and child care.

And just as our government has been busy this year, so too have all of you journalists.

Thank you for your tireless work in 2018. As journalists, you’re a big part of what makes Canada, Canada, a country that cherishes democracy and will forever defend a free press.

I hope you all have a great holiday with friends and family, enjoying some well-deserved time off.

There’s no question that 2019 is going to be a big year for all of us.