Chrystia Freeland

[Automotive Industry, June 17th, 2025]

Mr. Speaker, our government will always stand up for our auto sector. We will always stand up for our auto workers. That is what we were elected to do: to stand for Canada, to fight for Canada. That is what the Prime Minister is doing this week in Kananaskis.

I know Canadians recognize, as I hope all members of this House will recognize, that we cannot get a good deal for Canada if we negotiate in public.

[One Canadian Economy Act, June 16th, 2025]

Mr. Speaker, at up to $200 billion, our internal trade barriers are effectively a 7% tariff that we have imposed on ourselves. Members can think about how much national focus there is on tariffs being imposed on us by other countries, yet we impose a 7% tariff on each other. Let us trust each other. Let us seize this opportunity. Let us help ourselves and help each other.

[One Canadian Economy Act, June 16th, 2025]

Mr. Speaker, this bill clearly states that we will work closely with indigenous peoples, first nations, Inuit and Métis. We have established five criteria to determine a project's importance. One of them states that the project has to serve the interests of indigenous peoples.

I would also like to point out that we have announced nearly $20 million in annual funding to support consultations and essential work in co-operation with indigenous peoples.

Finally, I want to emphasize the importance of the $10‑billion investment to support indigenous peoples' involvement.

[One Canadian Economy Act, June 16th, 2025]

Mr. Speaker, let me begin by recognizing, as I did before the Senate today, the pioneering work the member for Okanagan Lake West—South Kelowna has done on this issue. I think all of us remember, who could forget, his slogan to “free the beer”. He was ahead of his time.

I have emphasized that this is not a partisan bill. This is about work that I believe all Canadians can support. We are very lucky. There is a window right now to get this work done, and I am really grateful to the members opposite for supporting it.

I also want to address the issue of trucking. Trucking is absolutely essential, and it is essential to make it easier to drive trucks across the country. That is why I mentioned it in my opening remarks. We are going to have a trucking hackathon at—

[One Canadian Economy Act, June 16th, 2025]

moved that Bill C-5, An Act to enact the Free Trade and Labour Mobility in Canada Act and the Building Canada Act, be read the second time and referred to a committee.

Mr. Speaker, as we have seen in the strong cross-party support for this legislation, members understand that Canada is at a critical moment. U.S. tariffs are battering our economy and threatening to push the entire world into a recession. Hard-working Canadians are losing their jobs, businesses are losing their customers, and investors are holding back.

That is why now is the time to act decisively where we have the power to do so, here in Canada. Now is the time to build Canada, to make our country more prosperous, more resilient and stronger.

I joined the Prime Minister, along with my colleagues the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, and met with the premiers at the first ministers' meeting in Saskatoon a few weeks ago. We talked together about our plan to get nation-building projects moving in Canada. We agreed to act quickly together to get this done. We must, and so we are confident that we will.

However, even acting with great focus and urgency, these nation-building projects will take a little time. That is why it is so essential for us to press ahead with a project that costs nothing and can be accomplished at the stroke of a pen: delivering free trade in Canada. Economists estimate that truly free trade within our country, making it as easy to do business between, say, B.C. and Nova Scotia as it is within one province itself, would add as much as $200 billion to Canada's economy. At this time of crisis, that is a boost we definitely need. Free trade in our own country is a great idea whose time has come.

Now that the LCBO is not stocking American wine, it makes more sense than ever to be sure that Nova Scotia and B.C. wines can be found on its shelf. A registered nurse qualified in Saskatchewan should be able to get right to work if her family moves to Newfoundland to be close to aging relatives. A plumbing firm in Winnipeg should as easily be able to expand to do jobs in Kenora as it can in Brandon, and a trucker should be able to drive from Halifax Harbour to the port of Vancouver without buying permits to cross between provinces and wasting precious time making technical adjustments after he rolls across each provincial line. Freer internal trade and easier labour mobility will also help boost our housing industry, including the construction of modular homes, which can bring down the cost of building new homes and get them finished faster.

Ultimately, the decision to build one Canadian economy out of 13 is a decision to trust one another. It is about deciding that the delicious steak that people eat in Calgary is surely good enough to serve in Charlottetown and that the dental hygienist whose patients in Moncton adore her can be counted on to do the same excellent work when she moves to Quebec City.

Australia, a country with which we have so much in common, made the decision to build a single continental economy 30 years ago. Australians decided to trust each other. Over the past three decades, that trust has enriched every Australian and strengthened the bonds that unite that beautiful country.

Now is the moment for Canada to do likewise. The wave of patriotism that has swept across our great country over the past few months has been truly inspiring and invigorating. Let us seize the moment to turn that love of Canada into action by trusting each other and creating one single Canadian economy from coast to coast to coast.

That is why we introduced this bill. We want to eliminate domestic trade barriers and build one Canadian economy. For far too long, senseless barriers have curbed trade. It is time to mutually recognize provincial and territorial regulations to facilitate trade by Canadian companies throughout the country and allow skilled workers to seize opportunities, wherever they may be.

Momentum is growing across the country toward this laudable goal. P.E.I., Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Manitoba have all passed legislation to remove barriers to internal trade. British Columbia has passed its historic economic stabilization act, and Quebec is advancing its own reforms. Memoranda of understanding between Ontario and other provinces, including Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, P.E.I., Manitoba and Saskatchewan, as well as powerful regional agreements like the new west partnership, signal new levels of co-operation and a commitment to bring down barriers to internal trade and to make labour mobility easier. I want to salute my native Alberta for its pioneering leadership on this issue.

At the national level, through the committee on internal trade, we are accelerating efforts to eliminate remaining exceptions to the Canadian Free Trade Agreement, advance mutual recognition in sectors such as trucking and consumer goods, and facilitate housing construction by addressing interprovincial material and labour barriers. Progress is also being made on credential recognition and direct-to-consumer alcohol sales.

I encourage all members of the House to support this work to strengthen transportation and trade infrastructure and deliver on the promise of a truly unified economy.

This is something leaders from all political parties agree on. After the first ministers' meeting in Saskatoon, premiers of all political stripes were enthusiastic about our shared mission to build Canada. Premier Kinew said, “It's a generational opportunity for Canadians, but it's also a generational opportunity for some of the poorest communities in our country.”

Premier Legault said, “We had an excellent meeting.”

I say to my dear colleagues that this is truly not a partisan effort. These are nation-building priorities, ones that benefit every region, every business and every Canadian. What a delicious irony it would be for us to respond to tariffs imposed from abroad by finally tearing down the tariff and trade barriers we have imposed on each other.

Let us get this done once and for all and deliver free trade in Canada. Let us get this important work done together. I know that we can do it.

[Government Priorities, June 12th, 2025]

Mr. Speaker, we all know that Canada is facing a critical moment. We all know our country is being battered by U.S. tariffs.

Last week, I was in Saskatoon, and around the table were premiers, including NDP premiers, Conservative premiers and Liberal premiers. They all understood that now is the time to build Canada and tear down barriers to trade between ourselves.

I really hope all members of the House will recognize the urgency of the moment and support this essential legislation.

[Marine Transportation, June 12th, 2025]

Mr. Speaker, I absolutely agree that we need to be supporting Canadian shipbuilders. That is why we have a national shipbuilding strategy. I absolutely agree that we need to be supporting Canadian steel and aluminum workers, and further, I agree that we need to be alive to national security challenges and bear those in mind when it comes to procurement.

I have spoken to my B.C. counterpart about this issue, and I would underscore that BC Ferries is entirely under provincial jurisdiction. I do not think any B.C. MPs would challenge federal support for operations of ferries.

[Marine Transportation, June 12th, 2025]

Mr. Speaker, our government will always side with Canadian workers, particularly in our steel and aluminum sectors, which are being battered right now. I was disappointed and concerned when I learned of this procurement, particularly at this moment, when Canadian workers need our support. BC Ferries is entirely under provincial jurisdiction. The support BC Ferries receives from Transport Canada is entirely for operations, and there is no capital expenditure.

[Marine Transportation, June 11th, 2025]

Mr. Speaker, I absolutely share the member opposite's concern when it comes to government procurement at all levels. Now is a time when we need to support Canadian workers and Canadian industries, and we need to work closely with our allies and trade partners. That project was not a federal government project.

[Government Priorities, June 10th, 2025]

Mr. Speaker, a week ago, I was in Saskatoon with the Prime Minister and the provincial and territorial premiers, including the Premier of Quebec. All the provincial and territorial premiers talked about the need to build major projects across Canada, such as the Contrecœur port in Montreal. I talked about that project today with my Quebec counterpart, Minister Guilbault.

We must build Canada today. We must build it together.