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OTTAWA \u2013 New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt pitched her province\u2019s natural resources as key to Canada\u2019s goal of becoming an energy super power as she spoke Monday with the prime minister and business leaders in Ottawa.<\/p>\n
Holt told reporters ahead of a closed-door meeting with Mark Carney that New Brunswick \u201chas what the world needs.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have the trade infrastructure to get those assets out to the world (that) wants this at a time when our allies are looking for new and different relationships,\u201d Holt said.<\/p>\n
Last year, the federal government identified a proposed tungsten mine in Sisson Brook, N.B., as a project that could be fast-tracked through the approval process because of its potential benefit to the national economy.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we meet, we make progress. We made progress on the Sisson Mine last time we talked,\u201d Carney said alongside Holt. The premier later said the federal government was still supportive of the project and that work continues.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Holt said she also planned to press Carney for federal partnership on health-care funding and more defence investments in New Brunswick.<\/p>\n
\u201cNew Brunswickers want to see access to health care in their province and they want to live an affordable life,\u201d Holt said. \u201cI\u2019m here to share those priorities with the prime minister and continue the work that we\u2019ve done.\u201d<\/p>\n
Holt joined three of her counterparts Monday afternoon for a Canadian Chamber of Commerce panel on interprovincial trade, considered a key element of Canada\u2019s response to economic pressures caused by the Trump administration\u2019s tariffs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Holt touted her Liberal government\u2019s move last year to make it easier for Canadians from other provinces to work in New Brunswick, to applause from the panel audience.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She also noted her province allows businesses from across Canada to sell alcohol directly to residents of New Brunswick and encouraged Ontario Premier Doug Ford to do the same.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can tell you right now, Ontarians would love to have the benefit of New Brunswick craft beer in their province, and so I\u2019m looking forward to that,\u201d said Holt.<\/p>\n
All 10 provinces and the Yukon signed an agreement last year to allow consumers to order Canadian wine, spirits, beer and other alcoholic beverages for personal consumption directly from producers.<\/p>\n
Pierre-Alain Bujold, a spokesperson for the Privy Council Office, said Monday that provinces and territories are continuing to work toward the May 2026 deadline.<\/p>\n
However, Holt is facing some backlash for a planned toll on a key highway at the Nova Scotia border that critics say threaten goals to eliminate internal trade barriers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTargeting out-of-province carriers that must use the only land access point to Nova Scotia is not a constructive policy \u2013 and it\u2019s likely unconstitutional,\u201d Stephen Laskowski, president of the Canadian Trucking Alliance, said in a statement earlier this month.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis proposal risks undermining the free flow of goods and people that Canada\u2019s economy depends on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Holt said provincial tolls \u201care quite common\u201d in response to reporter questions. She told The Canadian Press earlier this month that she would not back off putting the toll in place.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rob Lantz, premier of Prince Edward Island, said he was uncomfortable with Holt\u2019s proposed toll and Nova Scotia\u2019s existing Cobequid Pass levy.<\/p>\n
\u201cExempting citizens of specific provinces doesn\u2019t sit entirely well with me,\u201d Lantz said, as he stood next to Holt during the news conference.<\/p>\n
Despite the \u201ctight fiscal situations\u201d of the Atlantic provinces, Lantz said he hoped Holt would be open to discussing more about the toll. P.E.I.\u2019s Confederation Bridge connecting the Island to Canada\u2019s mainland has a federal levy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
New Brunswick is considered by analysts as one of the provinces most impacted by ongoing U.S. tariffs. Its forestry sector, a key contributor to the province\u2019s economy, has been subject to U.S. levies that can total 45 per cent for some products.<\/p>\n
Officials are hoping to secure tariff exemptions and stable market access to the U.S. during an upcoming review of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement scheduled for July.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Holt said Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc told her there was \u201cmotion, but not movement\u201d in early CUSMA talks.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe relationships are developing, but nobody\u2019s satisfied with the status of things today. We need to see a clear path forward,\u201d Holt said.<\/p>\n
But, she said, the \u201cunpredictable nature of our partners\u201d means there could be a breakthrough at any point in negotiations.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a sense that, at any given moment, a big lumber producer in the U.S. could put in a call to the president and things could change tomorrow,\u201d she said, in reference to President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n
P.E.I.\u2019s Lantz said there is less risk to Canada if the North American free trade deal is renewed without changes.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be quite honest, we\u2019re not in a bad position vis-a-vis some of the other trading partners with the United States right now,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lantz noted P.E.I. grew its exports to the U.S. last year and that many of its exports are CUSMA compliant.<\/p>\n
\u201c(I\u2019m) fairly satisfied with our particular trading relationship but we need to settle this. It\u2019s the uncertainty that\u2019s causing the most concern across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n
Holt said there\u2019s a lot of common ground between the provinces and federal government.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s much more that we agree on than that we disagree on,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd now is the time for all of us to come together and seize the moment that Canada is faced with for the benefit of our provinces and for our country.\u201d<\/p>\n
Holt was also scheduled for sit-downs with the ministers of justice, defence and health. She will head to Toronto on Tuesday to conclude a two-day trip to Ontario.<\/p>\n
\u00a92026 The Canadian Press<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n