Western Standard - July 07, 2025


Ontario and Alberta Working Together to Build New Energy and Trade Infrastructure


Episode Stats

Length

8 minutes

Words per Minute

165.54863

Word Count

1,382

Sentence Count

89


Summary

Learn English with Alberta s Premier Rachel Notley and Ontario s Premier Doug Ford at the signing of two new agreements between Alberta and Ontario that will open access to new markets and create thousands of new jobs across Canada. In this episode, Premier Ford and Premier Notley discuss the importance of investing in infrastructure, including pipelines and rail lines, in order to meet the growing demand for Canada's energy resources.


Transcript

00:00:00.960 In the face of uncertainty, Canadians are coming together to stand up for our country
00:00:07.600 and build a stronger, more united Canada. That's why, just a few weeks ago, Premier Smith and I
00:00:14.480 were in Saskatoon to sign a historic agreement that unlocked free trade between Alberta and Ontario.
00:00:22.640 Over the last few months, Ontario has signed agreements with a total of six provinces
00:00:27.920 to support free trade across Canada. We're doing this because we need to unlock the full potential
00:00:34.960 of our economy. We need to tear down the barriers and red tape that have held us back for far, far
00:00:42.000 too long. We need to make Canada more competitive, more resilient, and more self-reliant. We need to
00:00:49.120 build the future for Canada where we can proudly stand tall, strong, united, and independent. So
00:00:56.960 we can stand up to President Trump's tariffs and anything else that comes our way. That's what
00:01:02.480 brings us here today to sign two new agreements between Alberta and Ontario that will open access
00:01:09.200 to new markets and create thousands of new jobs across Canada. These agreements are transformational.
00:01:16.720 Ontario and Alberta are working together to build new energy and trade infrastructure, including
00:01:22.960 pipelines and rail lines so we can unlock the full potential of Canada's economy by diversifying our
00:01:29.760 trading partners and bringing our natural resources to new customers and new markets.
00:01:37.200 Good morning, Premier Smith, Premier Ford. My name is Jen Hodson from the Western Standard.
00:01:42.000 I'm directing my question at you, Premier Smith, but maybe you both can weigh in. So, Prime Minister Mark
00:01:47.280 Hardy has said that he's amicable to the one pipeline in BC. So, is that enough?
00:01:54.320 I would say that it depends very much on where you think the world's going. There are a number of
00:02:00.000 forecasting companies that don't do forecasting, they do backcasting, meaning they say where do we want
00:02:05.120 to be ideologically by 2050 and what would we have to do today to reduce production to get there? I would
00:02:11.600 that prefer to deal in the world of reality. In the world of reality, we have 5 billion people on the
00:02:16.960 planet who want the same standard of living as the industrialized countries. They are going to need
00:02:21.360 energy from all sources to be able to get there. And so, if you look at OECD, which does forecasting,
00:02:27.680 they think by 2050 the world is going to need about 120 million barrels a day up from about 104 today.
00:02:33.360 So, if it's a growing market, I think the world would benefit from having more supply from a reliable,
00:02:39.760 friendly, safe leader like Canada, especially with the heavy oil product that we provide because
00:02:44.880 it gives a lot of options in developing asphalt, building materials, lubricants, petrochemicals,
00:02:51.360 and so on. There's a lot of versatility in the product. So, we are very much in the view that if
00:02:56.560 we're going to see a growing share, Canada should have a growing share, and Alberta should have a growing
00:03:02.000 share. So, if we were, if we had the Energy East, if we had Keystone XL, we had Northern Gateway,
00:03:07.520 we would be producing two and a half million barrels a day, more than we are today. That would
00:03:12.160 have been generating somewhere in the order of, oh, I don't know, 60 billion dollars a year in revenue
00:03:18.640 for the country. And that would have, and that's again, 40 percent of that revenue going to various
00:03:24.400 governments. That would go a long way towards allowing us the dollars that we need to meet our NATO
00:03:29.360 international target for spending, or any of the social programs that we can keep, that we value.
00:03:36.880 And I think that this is maybe the new understanding that we have. If you want to provide the supports
00:03:42.160 for your people, you have to generate the revenue so that you have the money there. The model we've
00:03:46.800 been using for the last 10 years has been borrow, borrow, borrow, print money, and see inflation. It
00:03:51.120 doesn't work. How about we try a different approach? Let's make sure that every single part of
00:03:55.840 our economy is taking on all cylinders. Let's make sure that all of our wealth creators and job
00:04:00.000 creators have the ability to do that. And then governments can talk about what their priorities
00:04:04.800 are for the revenue that gets generated as a result. That's the world I think we're moving to.
00:04:09.680 So I'm up with you. There's probably room for more than one pipeline, probably several.
00:04:17.200 Well, thank you for that, Premier Smith. I've been promoting building pipelines west, east,
00:04:22.320 north and south. As you just heard Premier Smith say, two and a half million barrels is our potential.
00:04:29.760 And that's just in Alberta. That's not talking about a great neighbor, Saskatchewan, but up in
00:04:35.360 Newfoundland, Labrador, and a few other places. That's what we need to do. We need to be an economic
00:04:41.120 powerhouse, an energy powerhouse around the world. And we need the $60 billion, as Premier Smith said,
00:04:50.080 to build our infrastructure, healthcare. And rather than just, as you were saying,
00:04:55.200 Premier Smith, rather than just continue to spend money. That hasn't worked. We need to unleash the
00:05:00.800 opportunities, no matter if it's the great oil here in Alberta, or the critical minerals of the energy
00:05:07.520 that we have in Ontario. That's what we need to do. The door is open. We need to go through that door
00:05:13.760 until the world Canada is open for business. Follow up on that. Do you believe that Prime Minister
00:05:20.800 Carvey is actually going to play ball? Or is he just talking the talk? Well, there'll be a moment
00:05:28.560 where the rubber hits the road. Like, you can only talk the talk for so long before you start putting
00:05:32.960 some real action around it. That's why I've been saying I'd like to see by the ball. That's my target,
00:05:39.040 is to try to get our projects and the projects to unfold.
00:05:44.320 Well, let's give Prime Minister Carvey an opportunity. And there's going to be a time
00:05:50.400 that we're either fully in, or we aren't. And I'll tell you one thing, Prime Minister Carvey is no
00:05:59.840 Justin Trudeau. He's a business mind, he's run massive multi-billion dollar businesses,
00:06:05.680 and he's bringing the business approach to the federal government that hasn't had that approach
00:06:10.720 in the last 10 years. He wants to get things going. He comes from Alberta. He believes in
00:06:17.280 prosperity opportunity. He believes in cutting waste, because we've seen the government, federal
00:06:22.720 government, go by 40%. So I have all the confidence that he's going to listen to the premiers and
00:06:30.560 straighten up the federal government once and for all, and get rid of the red tape and regulations.
00:06:35.920 And let's see what happens there. But I'm giving Prime Minister Carvey the benefit of the doubt.
00:06:41.200 So far, so good. And I wish him all the best with dealing with President Trump as well,
00:06:46.400 because that's going to be a big area where we can get rid of the uncertainty.
00:06:51.600 But thank you, everyone. Again, Congressman Smith, thank you for your hospitality.
00:06:56.080 Thank you for this fabulous double pocket. And that's it.
00:07:01.920 I'm looking forward to coming to your place.
00:07:03.440 Yeah, absolutely. Okay, thank you.
00:07:05.200 Thank you so much.
00:07:10.320 Thank you.
00:07:11.600 Hi, Premier Ross and CEO of Dr.
00:07:13.760 Good to see you.
00:07:14.160 Premier Danielle Smith and Premier Doug Ford just wrapped up a press conference here,
00:07:18.320 where they were discussing new agreements in the energy sector. The Western Standard asked them if
00:07:24.640 one pipeline is going to be enough, as per Mark Carney's recent remarks. And both of them are quite
00:07:30.800 keen to have more pipelines built. Premier Smith mentioned that funding from more pipelines could
00:07:38.400 go towards our NATO defence spending budget and several other projects and would be a net positive
00:07:45.200 benefit for Canada. Premier Ford agreed with Premier Smith's comments. And both of them also said that
00:07:52.800 they're willing to give Mark Carney the benefit of the doubt when it comes to whether or not these
00:07:58.320 projects will actually be moving forward. So we'll keep on following up on that. And we look forward to
00:08:04.560 seeing cooperation between these two provinces for the benefit of Canada. Thanks for tuning in.