Thank you very much, Chair.
Thank you, colleagues, for inviting me here today on the unceded ancestral territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe, as was just mentioned, to discuss the supplementary estimates and answer your questions.
Right now, Canada stands at a pivotal moment. Faced with global volatility; a changing climate; technological revolution, particularly in AI; and an affordability crisis, it is clear that our old ways of doing business no longer serve us well. As Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, I hear a common message from coast to coast to coast: Canadians want us to leverage our resource abundance to become an energy and natural resources superpower. That means diversifying our exports to those who share our values, not just our borders; growing our economy to be the strongest in the G7; and using our energy and natural resources to build lasting prosperity at home and fund the programs and services that Canadians rely on.
This is why we are undertaking what I have called a wartime-like effort to retool our economy, unlock our domestic resources and accelerate our major projects with provinces and territories, indigenous partners and industry. Our government's core mission, much of it led by Natural Resources Canada, is to build Canada strong by empowering Canadians, strengthening our economic security and seizing new opportunities while carrying out vital work in areas like forestry, mining, energy, wildfire management and clean technologies. This work will give us more than any foreign government can take away from Canadians.
You see this ambition in budget 2025, in our climate competitiveness strategy and in our efforts through the Major Projects Office, all of which will help ensure that Canada leads in both conventional and clean energy and clean technology. We will make sure that it seizes the opportunities that lie in the global shift toward low-carbon energy and secures supply chains for our allies and for ourselves. We cannot control what other nations do, but we can control how and what we build here in Canada.
As the Prime Minister often says, we can give ourselves more than others can take away from us.
This is why we created the new Major Projects Office. We have already referred two waves of nation-building projects, including critical mineral projects, new transmission infrastructure, LNG terminals to the west coast, the G7's first small modular reactors, offshore wind and potential new transmission in Atlantic Canada, as well as major projects that expand the port of Montreal and get Iqaluit off diesel power. Taken together, these projects will get Canadian resources to global markets faster. They are expected to attract almost $116 billion of investment, create thousands of good jobs and strengthen energy security while reducing emissions.
The supplemental estimates for 2025-26 advance these goals by increasing Natural Resources Canada's reference levels by $50.3 million, bringing the department's total budget to $5.23 billion.
One example is the defence stockpiling initiative that I announced while hosting the G7 energy and environment ministers' meeting at the end of October. A transfer of $23.3 million from the Department of National Defence under the defence industrial strategy will support a defence stockpiling regime that accelerates domestic critical minerals processing for defence and dual-use applications. The estimates also support our work with National Defence to assess the feasibility of nuclear microreactors to supply reliable heat and electricity for remote and northern bases of operations.
In both my past life and this role, it is clear that we can only build a strong Canada in partnership with indigenous peoples, first nations, Inuit and Métis. These estimates also include indigenous equity and ownership in major projects through the indigenous loan guarantee program so that indigenous communities can be full partners in Canadian resource development.
Together, these targeted investments reflect a bigger story. Natural Resources Canada, like the rest of our new government, is focused on delivery, not delay. We are using our natural advantages to build Canada strong while centring clean growth, innovation, investment certainty, reconciliation with indigenous peoples and greater security in a turbulent world.
I think we all agree that our vast natural resources are one of our biggest advantages.
Responsibly developing these resources will allow us to grow our economy, enhance our climate competitiveness and become an energy superpower.
Colleagues, the wealth of our country lies in these vast resources, but our greatness as a nation lies in how we choose to harness them. With the support of Parliament, these investments will help Canada unlock our full potential as a nation, secure our energy future and ensure prosperity for all Canadians. I look forward to our discussion today.
Thank you. Now is the time to act. I welcome your questions.
