Mélanie Joly says that Quebec will have its share of federal defense spending

Ottawa is sending out signals to Quebec that the province will have its share of defense contracts and that federal funds are available for major projects, including the construction of the Churchill Falls power line to Quebec.

The new federal Minister of Industry, Mélanie Joly, was the guest of the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal on Wednesday for a breakfast conference, and her message could not have been clearer. “We want to invest in major projects, projects we know in Quebec, we have several, whether in critical minerals, the Hydro-Québec line between Labrador and Quebec (…) or the high-speed train between Windsor and Quebec City. (…) These are certainly major projects that we want to build, and we must move faster, because that’s how we’ll be able to create a kind of economic momentum,” she confided, while being interviewed by the new president of the Chamber, Isabelle Dessureault.

Later in the press scrum, she continued on this path. “We know that Quebec has put various major infrastructure projects on the table, including this hydroelectric line, including the Port of Contrecoeur, and the Windsor-Quebec train. We want to work with the provinces because we know that these are major projects that can have a huge impact,” she said.

Still at the approval stage

The minister also emphasized that this electricity transmission line is the result of “a great agreement between Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec, a historic agreement, the resolution of a dispute that dates back several decades. And I think it’s important that we can develop our hydroelectric capacity while ensuring good federal-provincial relations.” 

Joly stopped short of saying the deal is a done deal for Quebec, specifying that the Carney government’s goal for the moment is to accelerate project approvals and that the time to pay would come later. “If there are discussions about financing, it will be through our infrastructure bank. Right now, we’re not at that level of conversation. We’re more at the level of project approval.” 

Defense: there will be something for everyone

As for military contracts, the minister also offered the CAQ government a helping hand. “It’s not for nothing that Quebec Premier François Legault was particularly pleased with this defense announcement, and he and I will have the opportunity to sit down in Paris to discuss how we can ensure that Quebec benefits, that Quebec gets its fair share.” The meeting in question will take place at the Paris Air Show, where the two politicians are scheduled to meet.

The scale of the spending promised by Prime Minister Mark Carney on Monday, some $9.3 billion by the end of the current fiscal year, guarantees in a way that there will be enough for everyone, according to Joly. “I don’t necessarily see competition between the provinces because I think there is enough investment to ensure that everyone can benefit.”

“Canada will not let this happen”

This desire to intensify federal-provincial cooperation is obviously not unrelated to the upheavals caused by the Trump administration and the uncertainty caused by the unpredictable president on all fronts. “I’ve seen the world turn upside down,” said Joly, who was Minister of Foreign Affairs until the last election. “War has returned to Europe. We’ve seen tensions between China and the United States escalate. Rivalry between the great powers has returned, and geopolitics is now part of every economic decision.”

“The rules of international trade are being rewritten,” she said, indicating that her entire strategy is based on three axes: “fight, protect, build.”

“Canada will not let this happen. We are the United States’ largest customer, larger than China, Japan, France, and Great Britain combined,” the minister argued, describing all of Donald Trump’s tariffs, and more specifically the 50 per cent tariff on steel and aluminum, as “completely unjustified, completely illegal, and completely unacceptable.”

“Canada is not for sale, but we are ready to do business,” she proclaimed to the applause of hundreds of guests gathered by the Chamber of Commerce.

Marauder 1000 researchers in the United States

Canada, she says, must take advantage of all the consequences of this administration’s decisions, particularly its rejection of science. “We have a unique opportunity to reverse the brain drain we’ve seen for years and instead find ourselves in a context where we will welcome more brains. We have a golden opportunity to attract several researchers working in the United States. My goal is to attract 1,000 researchers from the United States to Canada.”

Joly made sure to acknowledge the arrival of Isabelle Dessureault, for whom this was her first public event since being appointed President and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal. Dessureault is not the first woman to hold this position, this honor having gone to Manon Vennat in 1986, but the fact that two women were on the podium for a conversation between the Chamber and the holder of the Industry portfolio was warmly welcomed by the audience.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews