Montreal – At an election campaign press conference today at the Port of Montreal, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that, in the face of President Trump’s unjust tariffs, a Liberal-led government would implement a major plan to invest in trade enabling infrastructure, to diversify Canadian trade away from the United States, create new jobs and build one Canadian economy.
He indicated that a Mark Carney-led Liberal government will:
- Inject $5 billion into a new Trade Diversification Corridor Fund, to build the infrastructure that will help diversify our trade partners, create good jobs and drive economic growth. This fund will accelerate nation-building projects at ports, railroads, inland terminals, airports, and highways. This will build one Canadian economy and diversify our trade away from the United States.
- Authorize Canadian ports to cooperate instead of compete, in order to maximize efficiencies by leveraging comparative advantages.
- Strengthen the security of our ports to stop the flow of drugs such as fentanyl and its precursors, as well as illegal guns and stolen autos.
“The President of the United States is trying to fundamentally restructure his economy by imposing harmful and unjust tariffs. Canada’s response is to fight, protect, and build,” said Mark Carney, Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. “In this time of crisis, my new Liberal government will fight their tariffs, protect our workers and industries, and above all, we will use this opportunity to build a new Canadian economy. Together, we will build Canada strong.”
“The road ahead in this trade war will be long and difficult, but I have every confidence in our people,” said Mr. Carney. “We are stronger when we are together. We will build a more productive, more competitive, more resilient economy. We are ready to build the fastest growing economy in the G7. We are Canada strong.”
A background document with additional details on port measures
“All of Canada’s ports have the same mandate: to grow trade and the economy,” a background document noted. “They are all therefore working towards the same goal. However, due to the current limits on cooperation in the Canada Marine Act and the Competition Act, ports must compete with each other even in areas in which they don’t specialize. This prevents them from complementing each others’ strengths. By allowing ports to cooperate instead of compete, we will enable them to collectively focus on their mandate: to grow trade and the economy.
“Measures to boost strengthen the security of our ports will include: Better container and cargo screening; New scanners, digital infrastructure solutions, and artificial intelligence; and, additional boots on the ground. These measures will help stop the flow of drugs like fentanyl and precursors, illegal guns, and auto theft.”
(Photos of Mark Carney and the Port of Montreal)