October 29, 2025              Toronto, Ontario

Check against delivery

Hello everyone,

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining me here today. I want to thank Candace Laing, President and CEO of the Canada Chamber of Commerce, for hosting us today. I just saw her during my recent mission to London. We should try to coordinate our flights going forward.

This year’s meeting comes at a pivotal time in the world. G7 partners are more interconnected than ever, depending crucially on one another for the smooth flow of goods, data, energy and ideas across borders.

At the same time, we are facing an unprecedented energy challenge driven by shifting geopolitics, the realities of climate change, evolving supply chain risks, the acceleration of the clean energy transition and rapid technological change.

Just as the G7 was stood up to guide the world through the oil shocks of the 1970s, we now have a responsibility to, again, meet a hinge moment and continue building a secure, sustainable and market-driven energy future.

These changing geopolitical realities underscore the importance of forums like the B7. Governments cannot navigate a fundamental retooling of the way our world works — and the end of the Bretton Woods order — alone. We must work with industry, commerce and community based organizations, rowing in the same direction, to transform common challenges into united solutions and forge strong international partnerships.

I would like to take a moment to acknowledge the exemplary leadership of the B7 business communities, whose priorities align well with the G7 Energy and Environment Ministers' Meeting, with a focus on establishing reliable critical mineral supplies, responsibly deploying AI to enhance the energy sector and bolstering energy security and innovation.

It is in all G7 partners’ collective interest to build resilient supply chains, advance clean technology and protect our energy systems in the face of intense global change.

Canada is proud to contribute meaningfully to these efforts. To name a few examples: we’ve worked closely with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce to inform the AI work plan. We will be announcing critical minerals support for Ukraine, with the Ukrainian Energy Minister having travelled here to Canada for this event. We also worked with our international partners in Japan, Norway and the U.S. to inform an RBC [Royal Bank of Canada] report that created four scenarios of the supply of — and demand for — natural gas in the year 2040 so we can identify risks to energy and economic security.

If I have one message for you tonight, it is this: Canada is a reliable, democratic supplier, and we are ready and open for business. We welcome private investors, innovators and partners focused on advancing security, innovation, decarbonization and shared prosperity.

I want to be clear: Canada is diversifying its economy and making transformational changes to catalyze private investment from our allies. Now is the time for our businesses to strengthen global alliances and partnerships — and for investors looking for a destination for your dollars that is stable and promising, look no further. 

Since I was sworn in, I have heard directly from my international counterparts on why Canada is a democratic partner of choice. We offer regulatory certainty; a talented workforce; and a deep commitment to open markets and trade diversification. Our government is actively championing supply chain resilience, recognizing that stable and diversified supply networks are an asset not just for Canada but for all G7 economies. We pride ourselves on these attributes, and we are committed to continue building our relationships to make them even stronger.

For those of you who are particularly interested in critical minerals, you should know that in addition to the Critical Minerals Production Alliance — which will be officially and substantively advanced at the G7 Meeting — Canada is also making a substantial commitment to our G7 Critical Minerals Action Plan. We are investing more than $80 million to drive its progress both at home and around the globe.

This includes $10 million from Natural Resources Canada to strengthen the skills and capacities of emerging markets and developing countries by investing in the creation of a Mineral Skills Network. 

We are also contributing $20 million to the World Bank’s partnership for Resilient and Inclusive Supply Chain Enhancement, helping to build resilient, inclusive supply chains around the world.

Finally, Canada is investing over $50 million to fuel Canadian innovation in critical minerals research and development while fortifying international partnerships.

I’d also like to mention our new Major Projects office that we have created here in Canada to accelerate projects of national interest, many of which I believe will also be of interest to our allies. The MPO streamlines approvals for key energy and infrastructure projects and integrates environmental and Indigenous commitments from the outset so we don’t have to go back and fix mistakes later on, which delays the process.

I would like to take a moment to speak to a few of these projects, many of which could be interesting investment or supply chain opportunities for those in this room.

First, we have referred the McIlvenna Bay Foran Copper Mine Project in Saskatchewan to the MPO. This would be the first net-zero copper project in Canada, strengthening our role as a reliable supplier of copper and zinc, which are of course essential for global manufacturing and clean energy technologies.

Another project is LNG Canada Phase Two, which would help meet the growing global demand for secure, low-carbon energy with Canadian liquefied natural gas and provide an opportunity to be a truly global energy superpower, shipping across the Pacific to allies in Asia.

And lastly, the Darlington New Nuclear Project, which was also referred to the MPO, is well positioned to support Canadian and global clean energy needs, and is on track to make Canada the first G7 country to bring small modular reactor (SMR) technology online.

There are several other projects referred to the MPO, and more to come by Grey Cup Day — for non-Canadians, that is November 16.

But why I mention them today is that, ultimately, all these achievements are grounded in collaboration and international business innovation. From our many international critical mineral partnerships, from our G7 Critical Minerals Production Alliance to the global export to our allies of fuels and nuclear technology, Canada’s strength is our capacity to bring partners together, ensuring every success can be shared, scaled and expanded.

I would actually argue that multilateralism is, in fact, all our strengths.

Together, through the B7 and G7 frameworks, we can fortify our interconnected economies and lay the foundation for a sustainable, reliable energy future for generations to come.

Standing together, we can — and will — meet the demands of this changing world.

Thank you.