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Provinces sign agreements supporting new infrastructure to get Ontario’s critical minerals and Western Canada’s oil and gas to new markets.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith have signed a pair of Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) to support the construction of new pipelines, rail lines and other energy and trade infrastructure aimed at diversifying Canada’s trading partners, unlocking new markets for Ontario’s critical minerals and Western Canada’s oil and gas.
The agreement supports the building of new pipelines, using Ontario steel, to connect oil and gas from Western Canada to new and existing refineries in Southern Ontario while expanding export opportunities, including by way of a new James Bay deep-sea port in Northern Ontario.
Also supported are new rail lines, also built using Ontario steel, which will connect Ontario’s Ring of Fire region, critical mineral mining projects and processing facilities to ports in Western Canada as Ontario builds an end-to-end critical minerals supply chain.
“In the face of President Trump’s tariffs and ongoing economic uncertainty, Canadians need to work together to build the infrastructure that will diversify our trading partners and end our dependence on the United States,” said Premier Ford. “By building pipelines, rail lines and the energy and trade infrastructure that connects our country, we will build a more competitive, more resilient and more self-reliant economy and country. Together, we are building the infrastructure we need to protect Canada, our workers, businesses and communities. Let’s build Canada.”
“Alberta and Ontario are joining forces to get shovels in the ground and resources to market,” said Premier Smith. “These MOUs are about building pipelines and boosting trade that connect Canadian energy and products to the world, while advocating for the right conditions to get it done.”
To move the projects forward, Ontario and Alberta will soon launch a joint feasibility study to help determine the optimal route and endpoints for new economic and energy corridors, as well as investigate the financing or commercial tools that may be necessary, while looking to leverage home-grown supply chains.
As part of the MOUs, Ontario and Alberta agreed to advocate for a federal regulatory environment that encourages private-sector investments in new energy and trade infrastructure projects, as well as to cooperate to advance the development of nuclear energy, including sharing of technologies and expertise in small-modular and large-scale reactors to support new nuclear facilities in Alberta and Ontario to meet growing needs of the electricity grid and industrial energy needs for power and steam.
“Never before has it been more important for Canada to unite on developing energy infrastructure,” stated Brian Jean, Alberta’s minister of energy and minerals. “Alberta’s oil, natural gas, and know-how will allow Canada to be an energy superpower and that will make all Canadians more prosperous. To do so, we need to continue these important energy infrastructure discussions and have more agreements like this one with Ontario.”