SASKATOON — Ontario’s Premier, Doug Ford, stated on Monday that the meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney and the rest of the provincial leaders to discuss nation-building initiatives was the “best” one held in the past ten years.
These remarks essentially serve as a subtle criticism of ex-prime minister Justin Trudeau, who often had tense interactions with the organization, particularly prairie premiers aiming to expand their energy industries.
Ford stated that both the premiers and the entire nation remain unified as Canada faces an assault from U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs—despite disagreements within the group regarding long-standing pipeline politics.
On Monday, provincial and territorial heads met with Carney in Saskatoon. Each premier arrived equipped with their region’s priority list of significant initiatives they aspire for the federal government to recognize as being in the nation’s best interests, subsequently accelerating their approvals.
“The aim is to create the certainty, stability, and ambition that entrepreneurs require to spark massive investments—investments needed to transform Canada into an energy superpower,” Carney stated during the concluding press briefing.
As the team deliberated several possible “nation-shaping” projects involving natural resources and infrastructure in secret, they opted against publishing a definitive roster later that could indicate tangible progress had been made.
Nevertheless, Ford stated that there is no cause for concern with regard to this development.
He stated that nothing was set in stone during this gathering,” and added that he did not anticipate the prime minister would endorse particular initiatives at this meeting.
I compared him to Santa Claus today. His sleigh was loaded with various items. Now he’s departing for the North Pole where he will organize everything before giving us a call.
The federal Liberals have not yet introduced in Parliament the proposed legislation aimed at expediting approvals for certain projects to within a maximum of two years. This bill could be presented as soon as this week.
When questioned about the absence of details following the meeting, Carney informed journalists that he could list numerous instances of potential candidates.
He proceeded to rattle off a list that featured the Grays Bay Road and Port, aiming to link southern Canada with the Arctic via roadway, as well as the Ring of Fire mining initiative in Northern Ontario. He also mentioned the Pathways Alliance oil sands project without making any firm commitments regarding it.
Carney mentioned that the team will define which initiatives qualify as top priorities during the upcoming summer period. He also highlighted that with private entities recognizing this chance, they can expect an increase in project submissions.
He stated that the impending federal legislation will require substantial consultations with Indigenous Peoples, covering aspects such as project selection and development methodologies.
Alberta’s Premier, Danielle Smith, entered the discussion cautioning that excluding new pipelines from the list could convey an adverse signal to her province.
She exited the meeting on an optimistic note, stating that it’s the responsibility of political figures to identify a supporter for a new pipeline, and she is prepared to allow this procedure some time to unfold.
She remarked, ‘I’m heartened by the swift shift in tone we’ve observed recently.’ She added, ‘It’s refreshing to hear the Prime Minister speak about becoming an energy superpower again; this rhetoric hasn’t been used in quite a while.’
Carney emphasized that “decarburized” barrels of oil should be considered within the framework of national interests.
“There’s genuine potential in this,” he stated. “It consumed quite a bit of our time during conversations about possibly moving forward with it. Should it be further developed, the federal government intends to push ahead with it.”
Smith highlighted the Pathways Alliance initiative, a coalition of prominent Canadian oil sands firms that maintains they can combat climate change via carbon capture and storage technology aimed at lowering emissions, as an approach toward achieving this goal.
“There are numerous methods for reducing carbon emissions; however, the Pathways initiative is quite costly,” she stated.
The construction costs could range between $10 and $20 billion. To justify this economically, increasing exports through additional pipelines to Asia will cover the expenses. A pipeline capable of transporting one million barrels per day to the northwestern British Columbia coastline would yield approximately $20 billion annually in revenue, making it seem like quite an attractive investment.
However, as they entered the meeting, B.C. Deputy Premier Niki Sharma stated that Smith’s suggestion for a bitumen pipeline to British Columbia’s north coast, possibly by resurrecting the halted Northern Gateway project, currently lacks “any supporter” at present.
We are concentrating on these ready-to-go initiatives rather than hypothetical ones without backers,” Sharma stated in a subsequent release. “Additionally, there exists an unused pipeline which Canadian taxpayers spent $34 billion on, and it still has available capacity.
The report from The Canadian Press was initially released on June 2, 2025.
Kyle Duggan and Jeremy Simes from The Canadian Press
