Thank you very much, Premier Moe. Thanks for your hospitality to the people of Saskatchewan, for welcoming the premiers, federal ministers, myself here, particularly as we spoke during the day yesterday and before, at a very difficult time as fires raged across the northern Prairies. The response is a massive undertaking, a credit to your government, that of Premier Kinew, Premier Smith, the volunteers, first responders, the support from the Canadian Forces and the Canadian government across the board. I also want to thank the premiers for their support, their consistent, unwavering, constructive support in our response to the unjustified and unlawful tariffs that the U.S. is still imposing on Canada. We are fighting to get the best deal for Canada. That work is ongoing. Minister LeBlanc will be headed to Washington this evening to continue negotiations.

At the same time, we are also working to develop new trade partnerships. Canada has what the world wants, and the values that others aspire to. Our main objective is clear: to build a single Canadian economy rather than 13, and to eliminate the barriers that are restricting internal trade and labour mobility.

We’re also focused on building nation-building projects and that took up much of our discussion today. I outlined, during the meetings, the central contribution of the federal government to this mission, first and foremost to eliminate all remaining federal barriers to internal trade and labour mobility, and to enable the federal government, working with the provinces, the territories, Indigenous peoples, to identify and expedite nation-building projects. To be deemed in the national interest, those projects should, amongst others, strengthen the Canadian economy, strengthen our autonomy, our resilience, and our security, provide undeniable benefits to Canada, have a high likelihood of successful execution, be a high priority for Indigenous leaders, and to drive Canada’s clean growth potential.

Under a new process, once a project is designated as being in the country’s national interest, a new federal major project office will bring together all relevant federal departments to provide a single set of conditions that must be met for those projects to advance, and the commitment is to proceed with the process, approval process, in a maximum of two years under a new, streamlined process that prioritizes federal resources to these most important projects. We will also work towards one project, one review, including through new cooperation agreements with the provinces. The point is to build the certainty, the stability, and the ambition that builders need to catalyze enormous investment, investment to make Canada into an energy superpower and to build the strongest economy in the G7.

We had wide-ranging discussions. There was a lot of preparation for this meeting. We discussed a wide range of potential nation-building projects including, and this is far from exhaustive, the Western and Arctic Corridor, which, amongst other things connects energy, critical minerals, and trade infrastructure, the Eastern Energy Partnership, Critical Minerals Pathways, which include a range of critical mineral projects that premiers can speak to, the next stage of nuclear from uranium to SMRs to large-scale nuclear in a series of infrastructure investments for export diversification from ports to rails to last mile roads. All first ministers agreed that Indigenous partnerships and equity will be central to success and upcoming federal legislation will mandate both meaningful consultation with Indigenous peoples, both during the process of determining which projects are in the national interest and developing the conditions for each project. The goal here is to get projects built faster so we can create more high-paying careers and greater prosperity for all Canadians.

With our new approach, we will complete major projects and do it faster than we have ever seen before. We will connect our provinces, our territories, and our communities together. We will strengthen our economy, create good career, and create prosperity for Canadians. 

This meeting demonstrated how we can give ourselves far more than any foreign government can ever take away. So, we’re in a position where we can build big, build bold, build one Canadian economy, and build now.