Thank you. Thank you very much, Steve, Minister MacKinnon. Thank you, Patty, Minister Hajdu, Marcus, Mathieu, Michael. Thank you all. And let me thank, first and foremost, Unifor and the workers of Alstom, who are here with us today. Because, as you’ve gathered, when Canada looks to build, it looks to you. It’s your skill, your dedication, your resilience that makes today possible. You know, we’re standing here on the historic grounds of the Canadian Car and Foundry, better known as Can-Car. For more than a century, workers here have built what this country needs to move and connect: railway cars, streetcars, buses. As Marcus mentioned, in the darkest days of the Second World War, workers here built what the free world was counting on: the Hawker Hurricane, the fighter that helped win the Battle of Britain. More than 1,400 of them came off the floor of this plant. At peak production, 15 a week, built by nearly 5,000 Canadians, more than half of them women. That’s what Thunder Bay does. When this country needs something built, we come here. You’re the story of Canadian industry. Yeah. Yeah. You can applaud for yourselves. Exactly. You’re the story of Canadian industry: the spirit, ingenuity, and the people that carry our country forward. Building big, building fast, building Canadian. And, as you sense and Canadians know, that strength is more important than ever, because our country is being tested. Two weeks ago, we made the right decision to suspend our trade negotiations with the United States. We couldn’t accept what they’d offered. We wouldn’t give what they’d asked. As a result, the U.S. has imposed new tariffs designed to hurt and divide us. Now, that’s a miscalculation because Canadians will always take care of each other. And it’s a miscalculation because we have everything we need to build the country we want. We have the reserves, we have the resilience, and we have the right plan.

Nothing can divert us from our goal of building a strong Canada. On the contrary: every challenge strengthens our resolve to move forward. This is just the beginning.

Fundamental to our plan is building what this country needs, here at home, with Canadian materials, Canadian ingenuity, and Canadian workers. So, we know we need more clean, reliable power. We’ve just launched the largest clean energy initiative in North American history – 23,000 jobs to build it. Enough power for every vehicle in Canada.

We must keep our sea lanes open and keep our economy moving. That’s why we launched the largest shipbuilding contract in Quebec’s history. It will build six program icebreakers, create 5,000 good jobs, and establish a new generation of shipbuilding in Canada.

So, when we need new power, we go to Canada. When we need new icebreakers, we go to Canada. When we need new subway cars, we invest nearly a billion dollars into new cars for Toronto’s Line 2. And you’re building them right here, at Alstom. Thank you. Right across Canada, everywhere across Canada, we need new ports, new mines, new energy corridors. In just one year, just one year, we have referred 27 nation-building initiatives to the new Major Projects Office. What does that translate into? Half a trillion dollars in new private investment. And the shovels are already in the ground at Darlington New Nuclear, at the Contrecoeur Terminal at the Port of Montréal, at the Nouveau Monde Graphite mine in Quebec, and the Mackenzie Highway in my native Northwest Territories. Crucially, as we’re building, we are restoring our industrial might and capacity, reinforcing our factories, the supply chains, and building the talent that lets our country stand on its own. You know, for too long, we bought from abroad what we were more than capable of building right here at home. We’re bringing that work back, and we’re turbocharging it.

Canada needs better, more reliable passenger rail. Our rail cars on our long-distance and remote routes are more than 70 years old. They were built when the NHL had six teams, goalies wouldn’t wear masks, the Leafs would win the Cup. It’s a long time ago. Those old cars, things are changing even for the Leafs, even for the Leafs… Those old cars have served our country well, but they’re long overdue for retirement. It’s time to build new ones, to build them here at home. And to that end, I am proud, with my fellow colleagues, to announce that the Government of Canada is investing $4.7 billion to manufacture and maintain... So, we’ll manufacture and maintain 313 passenger rail cars for VIA Rail’s long distance, regional, and remote fleet, right here in Canada. For the first time in four decades, those cars will be produced and assembled and maintained in our country. Cars that used to be built in the United States will be built right here in Thunder Bay at Alstom Canada, by the best workers in the world, by the best workers in the world.

This is the largest investment in VIA Rail’s history and the largest investment in intercity passenger rail in a generation. And, and, it doesn’t stop there. Five weeks ago, we announced a nearly $2‑billion investment to build a new fleet and new facilities in Montréal, where the cars will be assembled and maintained. We are building the capacity to manufacture every component of these trains here in Canada. We are bringing this industry home, and we’re going to act quickly. The first train car will enter service by 2031, and the entire fleet will be in service four years later. These 313 next-generation passenger cars will be made in Canada, and they will be built in Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, on Montréal’s South Shore, and manufactured and assembled in Thunder Bay, with support from the Alstom factory in La Pocatière, in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region.

These new passenger cars will be a tribute to Canadian talent, a showcase of our innovation, our expertise, and our industrial capacity. The construction of this fleet will directly support nearly 700 good jobs, here in Ontario and in Quebec, and – in line with our Buy Canadian policy – Alstom will leverage and expand its extensive network of more than 900 Canadian suppliers to deliver this new fleet, maximising the use of Canadian steel in structural assembly supports and fabricated metal elements. It will be Canadian electricians that install the wiring, Canadian machinists that will make the precision parts, Canadian welders will build the steel frames from Canadian carbon steel. And that work, as you know, reaches well beyond the factory floor into communities across our country. All told, this project will generate more than $1.6 billion in economic benefits, hundreds of good jobs, hundreds more down the supply chain, pay cheques that stay here in Canada. And you’re building something deeper, because we know in Canada that rail is more than a means of transportation: it’s part of our country’s story. It’s a thread that’s always connected us. The iconic VIA service that runs between Toronto and Vancouver over four days and four nights covers 4,000 kilometres. Thus far, it’s journeyed more than 150 million kilometres, equal to almost 200 round trips to the moon. Every year, 750 litres of maple syrup are consumed on board. And, on board, many young Canadians travel across this great country for the first time to witness its beauty, meet its people. There’s no journey quite like it. You can fall asleep under the prairie sky and wake up to sunrise over the Rockies. As you know, it’s called The Canadian. When I was governor of the Bank of Canada, we put The Canadian on the $10 bill because it represents the connections between us, and it’s a great feat of engineering from Canada’s past, joining the east and west by rail. And now, we’re here today because The Canadian will be made in Canada. This is one of many VIA services that will have a new generation of passenger cars, cars that are more energy efficient, better for the environment, more reliable, more comfortable, engineered to run through Canada’s most extreme temperatures, so service is safe, dependable, year-round. Modern comfort, better accessibility. Cars that keep what people love: the sleepers, the full-service dining, the panoramic views.

We are modernising The Canadian and The Ocean, which runs between Montréal and Halifax and is the oldest continuously running passenger train in North America. We’re also making it possible for more people than ever to take the train. Thanks to the Canada Strong Pass, we have helped Canadians to discover their own country: over 50,000 reservations have been made and 43 million kilometres have been travelled. That’s the equivalent of 9,000 trips across Canada.

As Minister MacKinnon, Steve, mentioned, in addition to these long-distance routes, we’re protecting regional and remote services that are lifelines for many communities, including 165 First Nations. On some of these routes, the nearest essential service is a train ride away. It’s how people fill their prescription, stock their kitchen, get care that they need. So, we’re keeping the trains running from Winnipeg to Churchill, from Jasper to Prince Rupert, so patients can reach their doctor, students can get home, families stay together. And we’re protecting a lifeline to communities that roads never reach to keep Canada connected. So, today we’re here on truly historic ground, a place that built the rail cars that opened this country, the aircraft that helped defend freedom. And now, we’ll build the trains that will keep us connected for generations to come.

History isn’t something that’s behind us: it’s a foundation. Our history points our way forward. Years from now, a young Canadian will ride The Canadian built in this factory. A new car, all Canadian, built here at home. The timeless, beautiful landscapes rolling past. That tradition, that quintessentially Canadian experience, lives on. And by renewing Thunder Bay’s tradition of rail car manufacturing, we’re strengthening the city that builds what this country needs, in a time when Canada needs it the most.

And that is how we build La Pocatière strong and Saint-Bruno strong.

This is how we build Thunder Bay strong, we build Canada strong, for all and forever.