Prime Minister Carney meets with premiers and shares his plan to build one strong Canadian economy

OTTAWA, ON, March 21, 2025 /CNW/ - Today, the Prime Minister, Mark Carney, met with provincial and territorial premiers and shared his plan to build one strong Canadian economy.

The trade war brought on by the United States has renewed the urgency to address longstanding barriers that have fragmented our economy and reduced opportunities for Canadians. At the top of the agenda, the Prime Minister updated premiers on the Government of Canada's actions to support workers and businesses affected by tariffs.

To support workers, the new government will:

• Temporarily waive the one-week employment insurance (EI) waiting period.
• Suspend rules around separation for a six-month period, so workers don't have to exhaust severance pay before collecting EI.
• Make it easier to access EI by increasing regional unemployment rate percentages.

To support businesses, the new government will:

• Defer corporate income tax payments and GST/HST remittances from April 2 to June 30, 2025, providing up to $40 billion in liquidity to businesses.
• Deploy a new financing facility for businesses.
• Provide more funding to Canada's regional development agencies, so they can better support businesses.

The Prime Minister and the premiers agreed that by working together to unlock economic projects and remove barriers, Canada can more than offset the effects of U.S. tariffs – creating higher-paying jobs, maximizing our economic potential, and becoming stronger at home and stronger abroad.

To that end, Prime Minister Carney outlined a suite of measures to develop a national trade and economic corridor. This corridor will drive investment, create jobs, and build economic growth. It will include:

• The creation of a First Mile Fund, building transportation networks to connect energy extraction sites to rail lines and roads. By providing capital to finance these key infrastructure projects across the country, the Government of Canada will expedite project construction and create a more integrated and accessible Canadian economy.
• A "one window" approval process, streamlining approvals for large-scale, national-interest infrastructure projects. This new measure will create clear, predictable, and efficient review processes – with the highest standards for safety, environmental protection, and Indigenous consultation – and reduce uncertainty for investors.
• A contribution agreement of up to $200 million toward the construction, commissioning, and operation of a new Indigenous majority-owned Cedar LNG processing facility. A partnership between the Haisla Nation and the Pembina Pipeline Corporation, this project will create hundreds of highly skilled construction and trades jobs, generate over $275 million in economic growth, and get Canadian energy to domestic and international markets.
• A $175 million investment in the Hudson Bay Railway and at the Port of Churchill, in Manitoba. This critical investment in Canadian trade and railway infrastructure will expand and open new transportation corridors, bolster economic growth and reconciliation in the Canadian Arctic and North, and help get Canadian products to global markets.

Furthermore, Prime Minister Carney stressed the imperative to break down barriers to interprovincial trade. To build a stronger and fairer economy, he committed to table legislation by July 1, 2025, to eliminate all federal barriers to interprovincial trade and labour mobility and to remove all federal exemptions under the Canada Free Trade Agreement.

By harmonizing regulations and enhancing labour mobility, Canada can create a truly open Canadian market – one that reduces costs for its businesses and consumers alike. This will help strengthen supply chains, boost productivity, and unlock new opportunities for Canadian companies.

Quote

"By working together, we can expand and build one more interconnected and resilient Canadian economy. Canadians are ready to show the world that we can cheer for different teams and still be one strong team when it counts."
— The Rt. Hon. Mark Carney, Prime Minister of Canada

Associated Links

• Canada-United States relations
• Canada's response to U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods 
• Government of Canada announces support for Cedar LNG
• Support for the Hudson Bay Railway and Port of Churchill Canada

This document is also available at https://pm.gc.ca

SOURCE Prime Minister's Office