Canada must fend off Donald Trump with ‘nation-building projects,' Mark Carney says
SASKATOON — Prime Minister
Mark Carney
says the threat posed by U.S. President
Donald Trump's
tariffs
means Canadians must rally behind 'nation-building projects' to boost the economy.
Speaking
at a first ministers' meeting Monday
, Carney praised the premiers for working together to eliminate interprovincial trade barriers and said he was 'confident' they can find consensus on what to build and where to build it.
'I can't keep up with the flurry of announcements of free trade agreements between provinces and across the country,' the prime minister told them, referring to Ontario's deals with Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.
'The federal government will do its part tabling legislation very shortly to eliminate federal barriers to prevent the movement of goods and people (by July 1), and also to put in place an ability to advance projects of national interest,' he said.
'The coming weeks and months will be critical … to turn the momentum that's been created by you around this table that the federal government is looking to add to, to translate that momentum, those ideas, into action.'
Prime Minister Mark Carney is huddling with the country's premiers in Saskatoon to find a consensus on what major industrial projects Canada should prioritize and quickly approve. (June 1, 2025 / The Canadian Press)
Premier Doug Ford, chair of the Council of the Federation, said the existential threat posed by a mercurial U.S. president is forcing Canadian leaders to act quickly.
'I just have to make sure to remind the country we're still under attack by Donald Trump,' said Ford at the start of the all-day meeting.
That's a reference to the president's on-again-off-again 25 per cent tariffs that are wreaking havoc on the auto industry and other sectors.
'He wants to destroy every single business, bring every single business down to the U.S. But I message to President Trump: that's not going to happen under our watch. When I say our watch the prime minister and all the premiers, we stand united, and we're going to make real, positive changes,' he said.
'No longer are we going to be waiting years and years to get shovels in the ground, no matter if it's a critical minerals or an oil pipeline across our country and making sure that we build clean, green nuclear energy, and we're going to be an energy superpower around the world.'
As he entered the meeting alongside Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, Ford tried to set the tone for the summit by crooning 'Love Is In The Air,' a 1977 disco hit, to reporters.
But with Carney prepared to unveil the five nation-building projects later Monday that Ottawa wants to fast-track, there isn't consensus for the new oil pipelines that Smith says are critical to national unity.
'There seems to be an appetite to talk about getting pipelines built so that we can get oil and gas to market,' she said against the backdrop of a possible referendum on Alberta secession.
'Where I think we'll have the most success is working on a corridor between Hudson Bay and the Port of Prince Rupert and I hope that we can get some common ground on that,' said Smith.
British Columbia deputy premier Niki Sharma, here representing Premier David Eby, however, said their province has 'differences of opinion with respect to that' possible oil pipeline.
'We're going to be focused on those projects that have proponents and have a lot of First Nations alignment,' said Sharma, touting a 'clean energy grid and our critical mineral strategies.'
New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt stressed national unity is paramount.
'I am pleased that Danielle Smith has expressed that she is not for separation. I'd like to hear that loud and clear every day,' said Holt.
Quebec Premier François Legault, whose government tabled a bill Friday to get rid of some interprovincial trade barriers, noted there are no pipeline projects on the horizon.
Prime Minister Mark Carney met with oil and gas executives in Calgary to get their input for his plans to make Canada an energy superpower. Carney, in his first visit to Calgary since being sworn in as prime minister, sat down for a closed door roundtable with several representatives of the energy sector. (June 1, 2025 / The Canadian Press)
'First, I've been invited here by Mr. Carney not by Danielle or whoever. Second, he asked us to bring economic projects, so we have many economic projects in electricity, in critical minerals,' said Legault.
'So we'll see with Mark Carney what is he ready to finance or to help or to push. I first need to see what are the projects.'
The prime minister has promised to identify projects for fast-tracking and to introduce the enabling legislation by July 1. That proposed bill would create a major federal projects office, with a goal of cutting the timeline for project approvals from five years to two.
But there are signs of possible dissent to come.
In a letter to Carney released Monday, the Assembly of First Nations warned that there has not been enough time or consultation with Indigenous communities that will be impacted by any proposed legislation to fast-track approvals for projects.
AFN National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak said regional chiefs and her office received a letter from Ottawa outlining the intent to change the law, along a three-page background document and an invitation to comment by the end of last week — an 'unacceptably tight deadline.'
She wrote that the actual legislation was not shared and demanded to see a copy, while signalling the government must engage with each First Nation 'as rights holders and not to advocacy organizations like the AFN.'
The AFN warned that parliamentary committees — where proposed laws are studied in depth — cannot accommodate 'the numbers of First Nations likely wishing to engage on a matter of this magnitude and significance,' nor do committee hearings provide the in-depth legal analysis and consultation she said the federal government is obliged to carry out.
Woodhouse Nepinak said the AFN supports 'efforts to protect' Canada and First Nations from 'geopolitical and economic uncertainty,' but she emphasized the government must respect its duty under the constitution and international law to consult and accommodate First Nations' rights.
Repeatedly citing the United Nations' Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and what the AFN says is a comprehensive duty to ensure Indigenous engagement and consent at all stages in the legislative and approval process for projects, Woodhouse Nepinak predicted protests and lawsuits to come.
'If free, prior and informed consent is not obtained from First Nations, this legislation will be marred and mired in conflict and protracted litigation.'
She said Carney's plan to concentrate authority in 'one federal minister risks marginalizing First Nations' oversight and voices,' and 'one window approval means the constitutional and international rights of First Nations may be dealt with unevenly across the country.'
When it comes to 'nation-building projects,' the national chief urged 'Canada to start with fast-tracking the basics like clean water, quality housing, modern schools, all-season roads and community infrastructure.'
She said she raised the need to close the infrastructure gap when she met Carney in Ottawa last week.
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