THE RIGHT HONOURABLE JUSTIN TRUDEAU (Prime Minister of Canada): Thank you Andy. Good
morning everyone. Thank you for joining us. Let me begin by acknowledging that we stand
on the traditional lands of the Coast Salish people and the territory of the Musqueam.
Similar to our great news on trade yesterday, today is a good day. It’s a good day for
Canada; it’s a good day for Canadian workers, about 10,000 of them in fact. Now, before
I became prime minister I gave a speech on Canada’s energy industry. It was 2013 and
during that speech I said one of the Government of Canada’s most important jobs is to open
up overseas markets for Canadian resources. We are and always have been a trading nation.
Millions of middle class jobs depend on it. However, we are forced to sell the vast majority
of our gas and oil resources to a single market – the United States. There is clear, and
growing, demand from Asia for our natural resources. Our neighbours on the other side
of the Pacific are seeking new sources of clean energy and expertise in the field: two
things we have an abundance of! We also have a competitive advantage through the CPTPP,
and the time has come for us to capitalize on that advantage.
It’s also true that we can’t build energy projects like we did in the old days where
the environment and the economy were seen as opposing forces. Those days are gone. What
people didn’t realize then and what some people still don’t understand today is that
in the 21st Century we don’t have to choose between a healthy environment and a strong
economy. They must go together and today is proof of that. It is proof that our country’s
rich natural resources and talented workforce can make Canada an attractive place for investors
to do business and support a clean growth economy.
Today’s announcement by LNG Canada represents the single largest private sector investment
in the history of Canada. (Applause)
Now, I like that sentence so much I’m going to say it again. The single largest private
sector investment in the history of Canada. (Applause)
And that’s not just in energy projects or in resources, in Canada. It shows what’s
possible when you collaborate and consult with indigenous and local communities, when
you coordinate all orders of government and when people insist on economic, environmental
and socially responsible development of our natural resources. A $40 billion project,
LNG Canada will mean 10,000 jobs at the height of construction, tens of billions of indirect
government revenues and hundreds of millions of dollars in construction contracts for First
Nations businesses. And I’d like to congratulate the Haisla Nation and other first nations
for all their leadership and hard work to ensure that this project became a reality.
LNG Canada will have the lowest carbon intensity of any large-scale LNG facility in the world.
We know LNG produces about half the amount of carbon emissions as coal. So by sending
Canadian LNG to markets that are today powered by coal, we will help those jurisdictions
transition away from this energy source. I want to specifically applaud my friend John,
Premier Horgan, for committing to ensure that the development of LNG in BC is consistent
with our national climate plan and with the province’s own climate goals. We are united
in our commitment to cutting pollution, just as John and I are united on so many things
for the future of British Columbia and our country. Just as we are united in acting to
seize the generational opportunity to develop a new sector like LNG that stands to benefit
all Canadians, whether they live in Kitimat, in Calgary or in Halifax.
That said, as a government, we have to create favourable conditions to attract projects
that will create good, well-paying jobs. These conditions don’t just happen by chance.
We need to make smart, strategic long-term investments in our infrastructures, in our
technologies and, above all, in Canadians. That is what we are doing, and that is what
we will continue to do. In my meetings with Shell’s senior leaders
in China, in Davos, and in New York we talked about competitiveness. We talked about getting
this project done right for communities, for indigenous peoples, for the environment, for
investors and for Canadians. With every meeting I walked away more and more confident in what
Canada had to offer this group of joint-venture partners -- five companies from five different
countries around the world. And with every meeting I walked away more and more confident
in what this project had to offer Canada. But meetings and good relationships aren’t
quite enough to secure the largest private sector investment in our country’s history;
our government took decisive action to get this project across the finish line. We’re
committing $275 million for initiatives that will ensure that this projects sets the world
standard in things such as infrastructure, marine protection, and enhancing environmental
performance. We are also committed to ensuring trade barriers don’t get in the way of this
once-in-a-generation investment. Let’s be clear. Shell and its partners did not make
this $40 billion investment in Canada as a last resort, it was a choice. It was a vote
of confidence, a vote of confidence in a country that recognizes the need to develop our energy
in a way that truly takes the environment into account and that works in meaningful
partnership with indigenous communities. And I’ve said this before, but it bears
repeating. There will come a day when traditional energy sources will give way to clean energy
sources, just as LNG is now replacing coal. And as we move forward with this transition,
we have two critical responsibilities, the first, to leave a cleaner planet and a healthier
environment for our children and grandchildren, and the second, to do everything we can to
prepare our people, our communities and our economy for what lies ahead. Here in Canada
that is exactly what we are doing. Companies in Canada are investing in new technologies
to make our oil and gas production cleaner and Canadian companies are leading the way
in developing clean energy innovations, like the next generation biofuels and advanced
batteries for electric cars. All of these examples both create jobs and protect the
environment, which brings me back to my original point. Canada is a country that understands
that environmental leadership and economic growth are inseparable. It is an approach
that LNG Canada embodies and I thank Shell and all the joint venture partners for their
leadership. And my friends, it is an approach that helped
attract, again, the single largest private sector investment in Canada in the history
of our country. Thank you, everyone.
(Applause)