We chose to be here today to talk about the future at one of the oldest shipyards in Canada, and a shipyard that’s now proudly owned, led, and managed by local Indigenous leadership. And I especially want to welcome and acknowledge Chief Terry Paul of the Membertou First Nation, Chief Jenny Brake, the Qalipu. Jenny, who started her career here as a welder. And this is a testament to what we can all do. And Saqamaw, Chief Joe… Chief Joe from the Miawpukek.

Now, this dock, as old as it is, 140 years, hard-working women and men from the dockyard repairing and refitting legendary Canadian ships, from the Canadian Coast Guard icebreakers to the Royal Navy fleets. Let’s stop and say a word about this. The Premier referenced building from coast to coast to coast. If you think about the building, the major projects here, the crucial project, I’m so proud of the progress that’s been made in Churchill between Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec. You think about the opportunities offshore, this great province, including Bay du Nord. But you also look at these icebreakers and what they represent, unlocking opportunity in the Arctic and protecting our country, protecting our sovereignty. That’s what Building Canada Strong means. So, whether it’s the Cape Roger, the Judy LaMarsh, they are vessels that protect our sovereignty. They’re also vessels that unlock the winter ice, unlock the contribution of this economy to Canada’s $30 billion ocean economy, and they’re vessels that are vital, vital for the research that allows us to prepare and build for the future. And in doing so, Newdock creates good, high-paying, fulfilling careers for our skilled workers or welders or pipefitters, boilermakers and the other skills, just as Chief Jenny knows. And we know that shipbuilding isn’t just central to our history and our character, it’s essential to our future. But that future, that economic future for our country is caught up in a storm, caught up in a storm as the United States fundamentally reshapes all of its trading relationships. And to be clear, Canada currently has the best deal of any of the United States’ trading partners in the world. 85% of our trade with the United States has no tariffs, it’s tariff free. And we have the lowest average tariff rate of any country. But we’ve learned a lesson over the course of the last several months is that our relationship with the U.S. is changing, and we can’t rely on our most important trading relationship as we once did. You know, we can’t control what other nations do, but we can control our destiny. So, we’re focusing on what we can control and building our economic strength right here at home.

That is our core mission, our North Star. Canada’s new government is determined to build the strongest economy in the G7. To that end, we are launching an ambitious plan to ensure a new era of prosperity following a period of significant challenge. Our new industrial strategy will transform our economy from one of excessive reliance on the United States to one that is more resilient to global shocks. A new economy built on the solid foundation of Canadian industries, and bolstered by diverse global partners.

Just last Friday, in Mississauga, I announced a series of new and comprehensive measures to protect, build, and transform our strategic industries so they can prosper in this new global economy. Those were, for these measures are, they’re wide ranging and they’re flexible, they’re focused on the future. And the first thing we did, first thing we focused on was measures so that Canadian workers can develop the skills for those new high-paying careers that those nation-building projects that the Premier and I referenced will create. And we shouldn’t underestimate, I’ll stop here… shouldn’t underestimate just how many jobs will be created, for example, in Churchill, as it’s built out on top of the over $225 billion of revenues that come to this province as it operates over decades. So, we start with workers, we start with retraining, we start with building. And then, we go to those industries, and we give them the opportunity to pivot to new products and markets with a $5 billion new Strategic Response Fund. The third thing is we’ve introduced a comprehensive Buy Canadian Policy. So, we’re modernizing all of Canada’s public procurement to prioritize public and Canadian suppliers because it’s time that we become our own best customer, buying Canadian to build Canadian. So, your government will buy in this province and across this country. Fourth, you know, there’s some businesses that are very acutely impacted by these U.S. tariffs, and they need immediate liquidity relief. They need immediate funds in order to adjust.

And that’s the case for the steel and aluminum industries. These are world-class industries, but they’re enduring punishing U.S. tariffs. And these impacts are being felt far and wide, including out here on the east coast. So, our liquidity facilities give businesses the support and the time that they need to position themselves for the future. And lastly, this will be my principal focus today, we’re strengthening supports for our medium and small businesses. In March, we announced the Regional Tariff Response Initiative, $450 million across the country to support SMEs directly or indirectly impacted by those U.S. tariffs. And the idea is so these companies can step up and diversify their products, diversify their markets, adopt new technologies, become more competitive. And last week, I announced that we’ve increased the funding for this from $450 million to $1 billion. Not just that, we’d extend the repayment periods for up to nine years and provide new non-repayable contributions across, of up to $1 million across all sectors. So, from seafood through to IT. And today, I’m proud to announce that $80 million of that funding will be dedicated to businesses right here in Atlantic Canada. Thank you. And this money will flow through the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, will fund small and medium-sized businesses across the region and help them not just to invest, not just to endure, but to thrive. It will be important for that ocean economy, more than half of that $30 billion ocean economy is right here in Atlantic Canada. In all, this region is a giant in fishing, manufacturing, forestry, IT, energy, shipbuilding, and its oversea trade corridors sitting here in St. John’s Harbour connect Canada with the rest of the world.

If we want to build the most dynamic economy in the G7, and we will do it, we must do everything we can to help the regions and our most high-potential industries prosper.

Now, the $80 million under that Regional Tariff Response Initiative that goes to Atlantic Canada will help, as I said, SMEs to expand into new markets, for example, developing innovative packaging and product formats. Think in food processing, in fishery, vacuum-sealed lobster tails or flash-frozen crab clusters tailored for high-demand European markets, but also help strengthen supply chains as businesses upgrade their cold storage and live-holding systems, so products can stay longer, stay fresher for longer, and make it easier to reach more export markets overseas. And our manufacturing and resource industries will also benefit.

For example, steel producers can modernize their factories for construction and shipbuilding, and lumber sawmills that will justify our activities to respond the growing national and international demand for sustainable construction. Lastly, businesses can modernize their processing plants by optimizing positioning, sorting, and packaging lines to improve their efficiency and their consistency.

So, equipping Atlantic Canadian businesses with the tools they need to respond to new challenges, to innovate, to modernize, to expand operations in customer bases, to take full advantage of new opportunities. These are the ambitions that align with the missions and what’s guiding your government to build lasting economic strength. That’s what Premier Hogan’s government is focused on. Now, we recognize that we’re only going to realize these opportunities if we act. And you know, that can be tough in times like this. Changes in the global economy. This isn’t just a phase. It’s not just a transition. It’s a rupture. It’s a fundamental change that’s happening in a very short period of time. And that rupture brings immense uncertainty. And when you have that big uncertainty, that can paralyze decision-making, pull back investment, stifle growth. But this is not the time to delay and hope for the best. Hope is not a strategy. It’s time, as I said earlier, to control what we can control, the products we buy in Canada, taking the time so our businesses can have what they need to adjust to new realities, getting capital to our businesses so they can retool and find new markets, and getting our workers, helping them have the skills they need for the future. Because when our businesses take calculated risks rather than face unknowable uncertainties, our builders, our innovators, our entrepreneurs thrive, and all of Atlantic Canada and the whole of the country rises with them with higher wages and a brighter future.

The people of this province, from their history, know better than anyone how precarious an industry can be. You know that the forces can change overnight and change everything. We are clear-eyed. Canada’s new government is clear-eyed about the scale and the speed of the forces are currently at play outside our shores. So, we’re empowering Canadians to shape our own destiny to build the future we want, an economic future that’s not reliant on one trading partner, but built on strong Canadian industries, powered by strong Canadian demand and bolstered by new international trading partners. So, we’re making the major investments to ensure our industries, our businesses can bridge to that future, seize opportunities so we can create that rising tide that lifts all boats. A global leader in food, in fishing and shipping and defence, in IT and in energy, because Canada has what the world needs and we have the values to which the world aspires, because together, stronger, we are building Canada strong.