Good morning, everyone. This is a historic day. And yesterday, across this great land, we were celebrating Canada Day. And today, we're celebrating Canada Strong Day, because in a more dangerous and divided world, our strategy has been and continues to be to focus on what we can control, building our strengths here at home and diversifying our partnerships abroad, and today, a series of initiatives we're going to announce anchored here in British Columbia. We will catalyze, through these initiatives, over $200 billion in new investment while advancing our trade agenda across Asia. In all cases, British Columbia is the linchpin, the gateway to a more prosperous, more sustainable, and a more inclusive Canada, and I want to thank you, Premier Eby, for your leadership in making this possible and that of your colleagues who are here this morning.

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.

Just a few weeks ago at the G7, leaders called on Canada to provide the reliable energy that the world needs, and we’ll do so sustainably and inclusively. The Premier is just back from China, opening new opportunities for B.C. businesses. Today, President Marcos of the Philippines, the Premier and I will join him. President Marcos is here beginning a state visit that will deepen our economic and security and cultural ties with the Philippines, and given his presidency of ASEAN, across the 500 million residents of the ASEAN countries. But to seize these opportunities, Canada has to do things differently. We need to move faster, we need to build bigger, and we need to work together. We have to be ambitious and build sustainably and inclusively. British Columbia is Canada's gateway to the world's fastest growing markets. British Columbia's power grid produces amongst the cleanest and most reliable affordable electricity in North America. B.C. is a leader in mining, production of gold, zinc, copper, and well beyond. This great province has one of the world's most educated and skilled populations. And so, it's on that exceptional foundation that Premier Eby and I are committed to build a stronger, more resilient, more independent province and country. Now, already, it's the case that one-third of the initiatives that are advancing through the Major Projects Office come from B.C., but today, we're accelerating and broadening that momentum. Premier Eby and I are announcing a landmark Canada-British Columbia Cooperative Prosperity Agreement. This agreement is comprehensive, it's ambitious, and it will help transform the entire Canadian economy, so it's not just about one province, the entire Canadian economy, and will help fund the public services on which Canadians rely.

This plan will help us unlock our full potential as an energy superpower. It will support 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 a meaningful partnership with First Nations at every stage of the process.

So, what are we going to do? Well, first, Canada and British Columbia 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 in Asia and to balance grids that are increasingly going to be 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, the financing, and the construction of major LNG projects in B.C. These include LNG Canada, Ksi Lisims, and Prince Rupert Gas Transmission Project, Cedar and Woodfibre LNG. These projects collectively will more than triple our production over the next decade, reach new markets in Asia as well as Europe, and all of them built with low emissions and in full partnership with First Nations.

Secondly, we will support the development of the power, the mining, and the trade infrastructure needed to unlock Northern British Columbia's full economic potential in an environmentally sustainable way. With respect to power, the federal government will provide three-and-a-half billion dollars for phases one and two of the North Coast Transmission Line to deliver clean, reliable, affordable electricity to projects in the regions and their communities. On mining, the federal government will invest $500 million to expand the Red Chris Mine, which will increase Canada's annual copper production by more than 15%, reinforcing our position as the reliable critical mineral supplier of choice and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the production by over 70%. With respect to broader issues of sustainability and conservation, we will create, through this process, 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 projects across the province with a particular focus on developing wind turbine manufacturing 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 putting in place the trade infrastructure needed to get our resources to new markets around the world.

The Port of Vancouver moves a billion dollars in trade every single day, reaching over 170 countries, and it moves more cargo than the next five largest Canadian ports combined, but that success is now straining capacity. Bottlenecks are appearing and they're worsening. Ships have to wait to load their cargo. It takes too long for imported goods to get to Canadian markets. That slows our trade. It means we lose some business to the United States. It increases prices here at home. Overall, it's holding our economy back. So, we're committed to change that. This is part of our drive to double non-U.S. exports over the course of the next decade, and the Government of Canada will support $10 billion in major infrastructure upgrades to expand capacity at the Roberts Bank Terminal. That alone will unlock $100 billion in new trade capacity, adding approximately $3 billion to Canada's economy every single year. Its potential of this expansion over time will rival the contribution of the St. Lawrence Seaway to our country. Now, while we make it easier to move trade, we’ll make life easier for long-suffering commuters. In partnership with British Columbia, the federal government will provide up to $3 billion for the George Massey Tunnel replacement project. This will replace, as many of you know, the aging four-lane transport tunnel along Highway 99 with a modern eight-lane tunnel, enabling Canada to export more of what we produce while connecting the economy of the Lower Mainland as a whole.

In parallel, we'll work with port authorities and First Nations to maximize the potential of the ports of Prince Rupert and the Port of Stewart. These will serve as vital trade corridors for our critical minerals and other resources and provide much needed extra capacity for a growing B.C. economy. Now, British Columbians and Canadians have always understood that it's not just about what we build but it's also about how we build, and that's why we're building sustainably, including by establishing a new national carbon credit framework to build carbon markets that actually work and by expanding B.C.'s clean grid to where it can have the greatest impact. It's also through Canada's $250 million investment in the Whales Initiative to reinforce existing protection for Canada's whales, including the Southern Resident killer whale habitat alongside the B.C. coast, and we'll strengthen protections for coastal ecosystems by preventing oil spills and strengthening marine conservation through our new Oceans Protection Plan. On top of all that, the conditions for the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 expansion will include detailed measures to protect these habitats. We're also clear that today's Canada-B.C. agreement will maintain the federal North Coast tanker ban in accordance with the proposed route of a new trans-provincial pipeline under the bilateral agreement with 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 projects and to deliver durable, long-lasting economic benefits.

The scale of these opportunities is absolutely unprecedented and we're committed that our agreement will provide the model for the future across the country. We will also build in solidarity with B.C. workers. Through the Team Canada Strong initiative, we're in the process of creating up to 100,000 skilled trades apprenticeships. And through this agreement, we will also provide $630 million for affordable child care in British Columbia so more British Columbians can participate in the growing economy as they wish. Throughout, we will prioritize Canadian materials, including B.C. lumber, steel, and critical minerals. There is a long, proud history of building in this province. That building has brought great prosperity, but also in retrospect, there have been some lessons. It hasn't always been done in the best way. I'll give a personal example here. My grandfather worked in the thirties and forties, early fifties in the Anaconda Copper Mine at Britannia Beach which at its peak provided one-fifth of the world's copper supply. It created great prosperity. It was foreign-owned. The workers in that mine weren't always treated fairly. First Nations were excluded and the environmental impact of that mine was largely ignored. This time, now, in partnership, we are building in the right way, in solidarity with workers, in full partnership with First Nations, and sustainably in a way that protects the lands and waters for generations to come. Today's landmark agreement is about building a Canada that works for all and that's truly Canada strong.