Thank you very much, Mayor Jefferies, I should say, and thank you for welcoming Premier Smith, myself, ministers, the MLA, and the media to hear the amazing things that are happening here in Red Deer. I want to say a big shout out to the women and men who are building this incredible Capstone development. This is remarkable craftsmanship, it’s on budget, on time. It’s allowing couples to move in and move forward with their lives, and it’s a testament to what can be done with real purpose and energy, and full credit to the team here and to Greg for leading them.

It’s great to be back in Alberta. It’s my 10^th time in Alberta since that short period of time, which feels like a long period of time, since we formed government and, in part, it’s because it’s always good to be home, but even more so, it reflects how much Premier Smith and I and our governments are doing together because we have shared ambitions and a shared sense of purpose and urgency to get things done.

Now, I’m going to come back to that in a moment. I want to acknowledge, though, as well, the wildfire season that we’re facing across Canada. It’s another challenging season, and on behalf of everyone here and all Canadians, I want to recognize the heroism of our firefighters, our emergency crews, the Canadian Armed Forces when they’re called into action. They’re all working relentlessly across this country to battle wildfires, keep Canadians safe, including the Albertans who are battling flames here in this province and who are helping their neighbours in British Columbia as we meet today. It’s in moments like these Canadians show who we are, and who we are is a people that look after each other because we know that we’re stronger together. And it’s the same spirit of being stronger together that brought Canada’s First Ministers together on Prince Edward Island last week. The Premier said, I think she regrets it, she’s seen more of me than her husband and I’m pleased (laughter). But we got together in PEI – you were there for several days, I was there for a couple of days – and together we focused on creating one Canadian economy, building our strength at home, and diversifying our trade partnerships abroad. And with respect to the first, on one Canadian economy, the federal government has implemented legislation that removes all of the federal barriers to internal trade, making it easier for Canadian workers, businesses, and products to move across this country. It’s a legitimate question why there were any federal barriers to internal trade in Canada, but they’re gone now.

During our meeting last week, the premiers made new commitments, commitments to double our electricity grid. I’m sure Alberta will lead the way on that. Commitments to have more direct-to-consumer alcohol sales across the country – Alberta already does lead the way on that. And commitments to enable greater labour mobility so Canadians can work where they want. By working together, we’re also advancing major infrastructure projects across Canada. In less than a year, more than 25 nation-building initiatives have been submitted to the Major Projects Office, which, its job is to fast-track them. That represents $200 billion in investments to help Canada build bigger, move faster, and export more. We’re also creating a trading network that’s the envy of the world. Canada already enjoys preferential access to one and a half billion consumers in economies that represent two thirds of global GDP. We just concluded a new trade agreement with the UAE that was negotiated in a record 47 days. By the end of the year, we intend to double our market access to 3 billion consumers by concluding new agreements with the ASEAN countries, with India, Thailand, and the Philippines.

Now, the people of Red Deer know the importance of good trade relationships. To give an example, in agriculture, Alberta produces almost a third of Canada’s canola. This region is at the heart of production and that was top of mind a few months ago in January, when we went to Beijing to secure a new deal with China that unlocked $3 billion in export opportunities for Canada’s canola farmers.

We are building our strength at home while diversifying our partnerships abroad. We are building Canada stronger than ever, we are accelerating the implementation of major projects that will transform our economy, and we are strengthening the local infrastructure that Canadians rely on every day. Local communities are the heart of Canada. And to build Canada strong, we need to build Lethbridge strong, Medicine Hat strong, Fort Mac strong, and especially Red Deer strong.

Strong communities start right here; they start with housing. And of course, a home needs more than four walls and a roof, triple glazing, stone tops. They also need clean drinking water, reliable sewage systems. For example, once completed, the new wastewater pipeline in Airdrie, not far from here, will unlock the construction of 45,000 new homes. And we need that because Albertans and Canadians can’t afford the delays. Because there were decades where, across the country, we didn’t build enough housing. And so, the average Canadian household spends more than half their income on mortgage payments. And that’s only going to change if we move big and fast on community infrastructure. And that’s why, today, the Premier and I are proud to announce the new Canada-Alberta Housing Infrastructure Fund Agreement.

What does it mean? It means, over the next eight years, the Canadian government will invest more than $510 million through the Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund to help communities across Alberta build and, when necessary, upgrade essential drinking water, wastewater, stormwater, solid waste infrastructure, all of which is needed to build more homes in this province faster. Consider Red Deer. As the mayor knows, as this group knows, this city powers central Alberta. Many industries, of course, anchor for oil and gas to agriculture; it’s a region that helps Alberta produce what the world wants. People come here from all over for education, for care, for services, for opportunity. And Red Deer’s growing: it’s tripled in size since I first came here for the Alberta Summer Games. I was watching the Alberta Summer Games. I was not in it (laughter). Just like that draft notice from the Red Deer Rebels, it never came. The call never came, but I’m still supporting them. Today’s announcement is going to help deliver the infrastructure that Red Deer needs to support that growth, because on top of that $510 million of federal investment, Alberta will contribute at least a third of the eligible costs for projects led by municipal governments across this province.

Now, that’s not all. The Premier and I are also working to complete a new Alberta-Canada agreement through Build Canada Homes to scale up affordable homebuilding. And through the Build Communities Strong Fund, which is a new fund, we’ll build the broader infrastructure that growing communities across Alberta need. So, roads, public transit, community centres, hospitals, clinics. Now, we know that it’s not just about what we build, it’s how we build, building in solidarity with workers. This agreement alone will support more than 750 skilled trades jobs every year: engineers, plumbers, electricians, pipefitters, plumbers. We’ll build inclusively with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis. Today’s agreement will allocate at least $100 million to projects that will benefit rural and Indigenous communities.

We will build sustainably. In the context of this agreement, Alberta will ensure, to the greatest extent possible, that these projects are built using products and technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

It’s innovative. It’s focused on different technological solutions to reduce emissions, not prescribing certain approaches.

We will build Canadian with Canadian steel, Canadian lumber, and Canadian workers.

The federal government is on a mission to help supercharge affordable housing construction across Canada, led by that new agency, Build Canada Homes, which has already committed through 16 partnerships to 15,000 units with more than 1,900 already under construction and that’s in the first few months of existence.

We eliminated the GST for first-time homebuyers for homes valued at $1 million or less, saving Canadians up to $50,000. There is still a lot of work to do, but the early results are encouraging. By the first quarter of 2026, housing affordability in Canada improved for two years straight – the longest period ever recorded. The percentage of their incomes that Canadians are using for mortgage payments fell to its lowest level in nearly four years. Asking rents are also the lowest they have been in two years, and the asking rent-to-income ratio is the lowest it has been in over six years. Affordability is improving because we’re building.

So, overall, some context. We have the right plan across those major projects, across affordable housing, to build Canada strong. We’re on track, but the scale of the transformation is so large that it means some of the biggest payoffs are going to take some time, and that’s where we’re also focused on giving Canadians a boost today and a bridge to a better tomorrow. That’s why we’ve cut taxes on incomes, on housing, on gas, and on investment. That’s why we’ve introduced the Groceries and Essentials Benefit, up to $1,890 per family to help more than 1.3 million Albertans to get ahead. And that’s why we will continue with a relentless focus on affordability, whether it’s competition in broadband or building affordable electricity.

 In an increasingly divided and dangerous world, our unity is our greatest strength. Governments are working together in the spirit of cooperative federalism to make this country stronger, fairer, and more prosperous. That’s how the Government of Canada is working with the Government of Alberta to advance a new oil pipeline to the west coast. This will unlock new markets and support lasting prosperity in Alberta and beyond. The associated Pathways carbon capture initiative will make Alberta’s oil some of the lowest-carbon intensity in the world, while creating an entirely new industry built, once again, on Albertans’ drive and ingenuity, just as Alberta did with the oil sands when I was growing up here. Combined, these projects will catalyse over $200 billion in direct investments, create over 175,000 jobs across this country. That’s above and beyond my earlier reference to the major projects at the start.

Now, more generally, the Premier and I are working to give investors and builders the greater certainty they need through a new agreement that delivers one project, one review. We rely on Alberta’s leadership there. Such cooperation is essential to building out Alberta’s electricity grid, its housing supply, its critical infrastructure. In Alberta, and across Canada, we’re strongest together, united, focused, working towards the same goals, making better lives for all our citizens. That’s the approach Canada’s new government has taken from the start, working with every province and territory to build our strength at home and to diversify those partnerships abroad. And, as a consequence of that, even though we’ve got a lot more to do, we’re in a stronger position today than when the trade war began. We’re now creating jobs at twice the rate of the United States. Canada’s non-U.S. exports are up sharply: they’re on track to double over the next decade. Foreign direct investment in Canada is at its highest level in two decades and running at twice the rate of our nearest G7 competitor. Canada now ranks as the most attractive country in the world for infrastructure investment, and we’re just getting started. Building Red Deer strong, building Alberta strong, and Canada strong for all. Thank you very much.