Canadian Design and Construction Report staff writer
Ontario signed an agreement with Alberta to build infrastructure and energy corridors that include a possible railway to the mineral-rich Ring of Fire region, the premiers of both provinces announced on Monday.
Memorandums of understanding (MOUs), signed Monday by Premiers Doug Ford and Danielle Smith, outline a commitment to collaborate on planning future infrastructure projects. That includes an east-west pipeline — to be constructed using Ontario steel — that would move Alberta oil and gas to refineries in southern Ontario and potentially to a proposed deep-sea port on James Bay.
“New rail lines would connect Ontario’s Ring of Fire region, critical mineral mining projects and processing facilities to western Canadian ports as we build an end-to-end critical mineral supply chain,” Ford said Monday at the Calgary Stampede alongside Smith.
“This is how we diversify our trading partners, this is how we make ourselves less reliant on the United States.”
The two provinces will embark in the fall on a feasibility study on railways, pipelines and port projects.
Agreements come amid heightened political and economic concerns over trade security, particularly with the U.S. A joint statement from the provinces says the proposed infrastructure would diversify Canada’s trading partners by opening new export routes for oil, gas, and minerals to global markets.
The provinces also agreed to:
- Advocate for a federal regulatory environment more favourable to private investment in energy and trade infrastructure
- Cooperate on nuclear energy development, including small-modular and large-scale reactor technology
- Promote the use of made-in-Canada vehicles for Alberta’s public sector fleet
- Support increased availability of Alberta-produced alcohol in Ontario
A joint feasibility study will help determine optimal routes and endpoints for new economic corridors, financing tools, and how to best use domestic supply chains. Both provinces said they will continue to consult with Indigenous communities as planning moves forward.
An Ontario-Alberta MOU signed in June aims at reducing trade barriers. According to provincial figures, annual interprovincial trade between Ontario and Alberta was valued at $62.4 billion in 2021. Overall, Ontario reported $326.6 billion in trade with other Canadian jurisdictions in 2023.
