OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney invoked the threat of an American invasion faced by the Fathers of Confederation as he urged premiers to unite against President Donald Trump’s latest tariffs.Opening a meeting with provincial and territorial leaders in Charlottetown on Thursday, Carney drew parallels between Canada’s current trade dispute with Washington and the challenges confronting political leaders who gathered in the city in 1864.“At that time, internal trade barriers were holding back growth. Major infrastructure projects required co-operation across jurisdictions, and there was a threat of American invasion,” Carney said.“How times have changed?”Carney noted that the original conference consisted exclusively of men, adding that “there were many others excluded.”“What they suspected then is what we know in our bones today: that our unity is our greatest strength and that our destiny is in our hands,” he said..Trump announced Monday that his administration intends to impose a 50% tariff on a significant number of Canadian goods beginning Aug. 19.Carney described the measures as the latest in “a series of unilateral, unwarranted trade actions.”“Let’s be clear: Canadian governments around this table will do whatever it takes to defend and support our families, our workers and our businesses,” he said.Carney argued Canada is better prepared to confront Washington than it was when the trade dispute began.“We are in a stronger position than we were when this trade war started 18 months ago,” he said.“We’re in a stronger position because of the determination of Canadians themselves and, I will say this, because of the focus of the premiers around this table.”Carney did not announce any new retaliatory tariffs or provide additional details about negotiations with the Trump administration.Instead, he focused on strengthening Canada’s domestic economy, removing internal trade barriers and accelerating major infrastructure projects.“The federal government has removed all its barriers to internal trade,” Carney said. “Why we had barriers to internal trade is beyond me, but we’ve now removed them.”He said nine of the 10 provinces have reached “one project, one review” agreements intended to reduce duplicated environmental and regulatory assessments.Carney said Ottawa has referred 27 nation-building projects to the Major Projects Office, representing approximately $200 billion in proposed investment.The projects would help Canada “build more, move faster, export more and trade more with the rest of the world,” he said.Carney also praised an agreement reached by the premiers allowing Canadian breweries, wineries and distilleries to sell directly to consumers outside their home provinces.“I will be testing this agreement,” he joked, adding that he was looking forward to Ontario implementing it.The prime minister said governments had also agreed to introduce digital credential verification for tradespeople by spring 2027 and would discuss further reductions in regulation.Energy infrastructure was another major focus of the meeting.“We’re all working to unlock Canada’s full potential as an energy superpower,” Carney said.He said Canada must double the capacity of its electricity grid by 2050, requiring greater connections between provincial systems and new investment in transmission, distribution and storage.“That will require the full force of a united Canada working together,” he said..Carney said Ottawa would amend the Clean Electricity Regulations to protect the reliability and affordability of energy supplies in the short term while continuing the transition toward cleaner power.He pointed to expanded transmission between Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick, greater electricity co-operation among the Maritime provinces and British Columbia’s North Coast Transmission Line as examples of provinces working together.Carney concluded by returning to the Confederation comparison.“We face, in some respects, many similar challenges to the Fathers of Confederation 162 years ago, but we have many more advantages,” he said.“The core lesson of history is that when Team Canada is united, there is nothing that we can’t do.”
