With the busy season for construction underway and no elections on the horizon, we turn our sites to what the federal and provincial governments have in mind with respect to infrastructure funding.
It was encouraging to hear the results of the Western Premiers’ Conference that recently took place in Yellowknife, N.W.T. The premiers indicated that they had received consensus on ways to identify, plan and develop new economic corridors to connect provincial resources to international markets. This is something our industry has been advocating for a very long time.
In a joint statement, the premiers wrote, “Nation-building infrastructure in Western Canada, such as highways, railways, ports, airports, pipelines, nuclear projects and electricity transmission systems, are crucial for driving Canadian productivity growth, energy security and economic competitiveness.”
SHCA could not agree more.
The premiers also advocated for the west to become the economic engine for the country. They said that the only thing holding Western Canada back is the lack of infrastructure required to transport our resources to new markets.
These statements are encouraging for our industry. Building the means to get our products to market around the globe is key to economic success in the face of the ongoing tariff fight.
The premiers also called on the federal government to ensure that Western Canada receives its fair share of funding toward infrastructure and economic development projects and flexible, predictable and long-term federal infrastructure funding from the federal government.
On the heels of this meeting, the Prime Minister and provincial premiers met in Saskatoon on June 2 to hold a First Ministers’ meeting, the first in Saskatchewan in over 40 years. The premiers brought with them a list of nation-building projects for consideration that could be funded to help build some economic resilience for the country in the face of economic challenges.
The order of the day is to get Canada back to building its economy, which cannot be done without proper investment in infrastructure. For more than a decade, we have been working toward this goal, and hopefully, it is not too late.
While these words by the Prime Minister and the premiers are music to our ears, it is incumbent upon the industry to follow through and keep the pressure on our elected officials to ensure that these pronouncements go beyond the paper that they are written on.
