Ontario Premier Doug Ford and his Alberta counterpart Danielle Smith unveiled two memoranda of understanding Monday, aimed at more closely connecting the Canadian economy through fresh pipelines and railways.
Ford has served as the chair of the Council of the Federation this year, leading the premiers in a push for free trade and better cooperation between provinces and has signed deals with various provinces.
Ontario has agreed to eliminate a variety of trade barriers with places like Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Now, Ford is moving to partner on the planning stage of ambitious new projects.
Ahead of the signing, Ford and Energy Minister Stephen Lecce held a roundtable with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and government officials to discuss their alignment on energy exports.
“The best way to protect Canadian workers from tariffs and economic uncertainty is to build the infrastructure that will get our resources to new markets,” Ford said on social media.
“We discussed how we can build new pipelines, rail lines and ports that will help us export Canadian critical minerals and energy to new customers around the world.”
The new agreements announced Monday will see Alberta and Ontario work together to plan for an east-west pipeline made using Ontario steel, connecting to Ontario's planned James Bay deep-sea port in the province's north.
