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<\/p>\nPrime Minister Mark Carney delivered an expansive and highly consequential economic address Wednesday to the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, using one of British Columbia\u2019s most influential business stages to outline an ambitious national strategy centred on energy, trade diversification, critical minerals, housing, infrastructure, and Canada\u2019s growing geopolitical role.<\/p>\n
Speaking before a packed audience of business executives, investors, elected officials, and industry representatives, Carney repeatedly framed the current global environment as a decisive turning point for Canada.<\/p>\n
\u201cFortune favours the bold in a crisis,\u201d said Carney during the session. \u201cYou really have to look for positive things. If you\u2019re pulling back and trying to minimize risk all the time, it will overwhelm you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a series of big shocks in the world, but we are very much in control of our destiny.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Prime Minister\u2019s remarks came amid rising global instability, escalating concerns about energy affordability and security, and intensifying competition among allied nations for strategic resources and supply chains.<\/p>\n
Carney painted the picture of B.C. not as a peripheral player in that transformation, but as one of its central engines. He positioned the West Coast province as both Canada\u2019s Pacific gateway and a cornerstone of the federal government\u2019s broader nation-building agenda.<\/p>\n
Carney described what he called a \u201cthree-dimensional energy crisis,\u201d arguing that affordability, energy security, and climate transition are now deeply interconnected.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe most immediate aspect of that crisis is affordability. The second challenge is a structural challenge of energy security. And the last is related to the existential challenge of climate change and the transition to net zero that\u2019s necessary to combat it,\u201d said the Prime Minister.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we master energy, we master our destiny,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to move together\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Carney, Canada\u2019s abundance of natural resources and clean electricity gives the country an opportunity to emerge as a globally trusted supplier at a moment when geopolitical fragmentation is reshaping international trade.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn an uncertain world, we have another commodity that partners are choosing,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s the rarest of commodities, unfortunately, these days, which is trust. Canada is a stable, reliable partner in a world that is anything but.\u201d<\/p>\n
That trust, he argued, is translating into new commercial opportunities.<\/p>\n
Carney said Canada has signed more than 20 economic and security agreements across five continents within the past year and is pursuing additional accords with India and the 11 countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which includes Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore.<\/p>\n
He says the goal is to have Canada double its non-United States exports this decade.<\/p>\n
The Prime Minister linked that export strategy directly to B.C.\u2019s ports, transportation systems, and energy infrastructure. He highlighted that the Port of Vancouver, the largest port in Canada, handles more cargo than the next five largest ports in the country combined.<\/p>\n
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Preliminary artistic rendering of Roberts Bank Terminal 2. (Vancouver Fraser Port Authority)<\/p>\n
His address carried unmistakable political significance for B.C., with the federal government\u2019s economic and national security strategy increasingly dependent on B.C. being a willing partner.<\/p>\n
Carney repeatedly stressed that his federal government intends to accelerate major projects while maintaining partnerships with Indigenous communities and environmental protections.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to move. We need to move in a coordinated fashion. We need to move together,\u201d he said, noting that this was the message he would convene in a meeting with B.C. Premier David Eby later in the day.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to move in a way that respects our environmental responsibilities, builds our partnership with First Nations, but builds the country\u2019s independence, sovereignty, resilience, and prosperity at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Prime Minister referenced the federal government\u2019s \u201cnation-building projects\u201d framework, introduced less than a year ago, which is intended to fast-track strategic major infrastructure and industrial projects. These projects are being expedited under the new federal Major Projects Office<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cOne-third of those 22 projects and strategies that are being fast-tracked through the nation-building approach are from British Columbia,\u201d he said to the applause of B.C.\u2019s business community in the audience.<\/p>\n The list includes liquid natural gas (LNG) expansion projects, electricity transmission infrastructure, and critical mineral developments.<\/p>\n Carney also highlighted the Northwest B.C. Critical Conservation Corridor, which he said could connect isolated northern grids, unlock major mineral deposits and create a conservation area \u201cthe size of Greece.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt also could include a potential Alberta-B.C. intertie,\u201d he said, referring to a possible electricity connection between the provinces.<\/p>\n The Prime Minister described electricity as foundational to Canada\u2019s future economy, particularly as artificial intelligence (AI), industrial electrification, and clean technology industries expand.<\/p>\n \u201cAs the economy expands and grows, as AI accelerates, electricity demand in Canada is expected to double over the course of the next 25 years,\u201d said Carney. \u201cSo we will double our electricity generation.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf things get stalled here [in B.C.], we\u2019re going to be spending more time elsewhere in the country\u201d<\/p>\n One of the most closely watched portions of the address came when Carney discussed ongoing discussions around a possible new oil pipeline connecting Alberta crude to Asian markets through B.C.\u2019s West Coast export facilities.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re also advancing discussions on a potential pipeline to transport at least one million barrels a day of low-emission Alberta crude to Asian markets,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n However, Carney outlined several conditions that would need to be met before any such project proceeds.<\/p>\n \u201cThe pipeline will only be advanced with the following prerequisites being met,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Those conditions include the development of the Oil Sands Alliance carbon capture initiative, substantial economic participation for B.C., and constitutional consultation obligations with Indigenous communities.<\/p>\n Throughout the discussion, Carney attempted to frame Indigenous partnership not as a regulatory hurdle but as a necessary component of modern nation-building.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the benefits of actually sitting down and talking about these things, as opposed to litigating about these things across federal government and provinces, is that it develops a shared understanding,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He later emphasized that negotiations between levels of governments have become more constructive than public debate often suggests.<\/p>\n \u201cThese discussions are much more constructive than they are portrayed,\u201d he asserted.<\/p>\n B.C. Premier Eby has been publicly butting heads with Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith over the matter of expanding natural resource exports, with critics accusing Eby of being obstructionist \u2014 such as Eby\u2019s November 2025 move of signing the North Coast Protection Declaration with First Nations to urge the federal government to uphold the existing oil tanker ban on the province\u2019s northern coastline. This is further complicated by growing economic uncertainty stemming from the provincial government\u2019s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA)<\/a> and other controversial and secretive reconciliation strategies spearheaded by the current provincial leadership, as well as court decisions and ongoing litigation led by First Nations, such as the cases relating to Aboriginal title.<\/p>\n David Eby. (Government of B.C.)<\/p>\n At another point in the discussion, Carney indicated that delays in B.C. could have consequences, both provincially and nationally.<\/p>\n \u201cIf things get stalled here [in B.C.], we\u2019re going to be spending more time elsewhere in the country because we need to move forward,\u201d he warned. \u201cWe need to invest at scale in the country.\u201d<\/p>\n A recurring theme throughout the morning was the speed of economic decision-making.<\/p>\n Vancouver International Airport president and CEO Tamara Vrooman \u2014 introducing Carney before his address \u2014 joked that the federal government increasingly speaks about moving \u201cat the speed of Carney.\u201d<\/p>\n Carney himself embraced that framing.<\/p>\n \u201cSo speed, but doing speed the right way,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd that really requires partnership.\u201d<\/p>\n The Prime Minister acknowledged growing frustration within the business community over regulatory duplication and approval timelines.<\/p>\n In response, he defended proposed federal reforms designed to consolidate reviews into a \u201cone-stop shop\u201d with legislated one-year decision timelines.<\/p>\n \u201cMost federal approvals are siloed,\u201d said Carney. \u201cAnd they happen sequentially, not simultaneously.\u201d<\/p>\n His federal government, he said, intends to reduce duplication between federal and provincial processes while consolidating federal oversight.<\/p>\n \u201cOften, if you drew a venn diagram with very similar information that\u2019s required, but not exactly the same information, which puts a huge, huge burden, a lot of those processes go through multiple regulators or points of contact at the federal level, and in many cases are duplicative of what\u2019s happening at the provincial level,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re putting in place the legislation, the architecture to one-stop shop, clear legislated commitment to have all the decisions within one year.\u201d<\/p>\n Federal government discussing with B.C. government on cutting development fees on new housing<\/p>\n Although energy and trade dominated much of the event, affordability \u2014 particularly housing affordability \u2014 was also central to the discussion.<\/p>\n Carney argued that Canada\u2019s affordability problems are inseparable from housing supply shortages.<\/p>\n \u201cPart of the reason why housing\u2019s not affordable is we haven\u2019t built affordable housing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need supply. We need the right kind of supply, deep affordability, we need to fix some of these structural issues in the core markets, and we need to grow incomes.\u201d<\/p>\n The Prime Minister pointed to the federal government\u2019s Build Canada Homes initiative<\/a>, overseen by Gregor Robertson, who is the federal minister of housing and infrastructure and a former mayor of Vancouver.<\/p>\n Carney also outlined federal-provincial housing agreements aimed at reducing development costs and increasing housing supply.<\/p>\n \u201cNo GST, no HST on new housing,\u201d he said of recent measures in the nation\u2019s most populated province in partnership with the Government of Ontario.<\/p>\n \u201cDevelopment charges cut in half for the next three years on new build,\u201d he added, suggesting some homes will see $200,000 in lower project costs per unit as a result of this temporary major financial reprieve.<\/p>\n He confirmed the federal government is engaged in discussions on a possible similar partnership with the Government of B.C.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s material improvement in affordability, and what we\u2019re looking to do is a structural change,\u201d said Carney on the new Ontario approach, before adding that \u201cwe\u2019re in early stages of discussion with the B.C. government around something similar.\u201d<\/p>\n In early April, shortly after the announcement was made for Ontario, Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim called on the federal and provincial governments to secure an agreement that would lower development costs and keep housing projects moving forward, given that a growing high number of projects are now facing a pause or cancellation due to growing costs for construction and borrowing and the current structural economic challenges.<\/p>\n That agreement in Ontario committed the federal government and Ontario government to each commit $4.4 billion to fund new infrastructure \u2014 effectively enabling municipal governments in that province to reduce their fees for new building developments by up to 50 per cent, with the revenue from the senior governments offsetting and subsidizing the reductions in payments from builders and developers in a manner that does not impact municipal infrastructure requirements.<\/p>\n Amid growing costs due to inflation, population growth, and aging infrastructure, B.C. municipal and regional governments have seen an upward pressure to hike their fees. Municipal governments in Vancouver and Surrey have already introduced fee cuts and flexibilities in response to the current market conditions, while Metro Vancouver Regional District is moving to delay some of their highly controversial increases.<\/p>\n \u201cThe agreement in Ontario offers a template for funding infrastructure and lowering the cost of building,\u201d said Sim at the time.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need a similar deal here in B.C., one that sees the Province match federal funds dollar-for-dollar to reduce development charges directly so projects can continue moving forward\u2026 We know the only way to improve long-term affordability is to keep building more homes. This is a window of opportunity for the Province to partner with the federal government and municipalities to lower costs and deliver the homes people need.\u201d<\/p>\n Although there is currently lower demand for housing \u2014 partly due to the federal government\u2019s immigration target changes \u2014 resulting in a downward pressure on home prices and rents, there is a growing concern that a prolonged interim pause on new home construction will lead to a steep escalation in prices and rents when demand returns in a few years.<\/p>\n Will Vancouver be the DSRB\u2019s headquarters city?<\/p>\n Beyond economics and housing, the discussion revealed the extent to which Carney sees Canada assuming a broader strategic role among allied nations.<\/p>\n Carney described an evolving network of agreements among \u201clike-minded countries\u201d focused on defence, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, space, food security, and critical minerals.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s happening in the world right now is that a series of like-minded countries are looking at deepening their relationships across various strategic sectors,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n That strategy also intersects with the new Defence Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB)<\/a>, which Vancouver business leaders hope could eventually be headquartered in their city<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"david](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/david-eby-first-nations-indigenous-bc-f.jpg\"\/ "\\"\\"")
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