Carney, premiers seeking plan for national energy, trade corridor

A national energy corridor?

Photo: The Canadian Press

Prime Minister Mark Carney meets with workers after announcing funding for houses during a visit to Edmonton on Thursday, March 20, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

Prime Minister Mark Carney says he and the country's premiers agreed today to work on a plan to develop a national trade and energy corridor.

Carney and the premiers are meeting in Ottawa to deal with what he called a "crisis" caused by U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs.

He says after some discussions about the response to the tariffs directly, the premiers turned their sights on "nation building" to build things faster than ever before.

That includes finding ways to better move energy and critical minerals and improve digital connectivity.

The first ministers also talked about moving quickly to eliminate trade barriers between provinces and with the federal government.

Just days before an expected election call, Carney says Ottawa is also going to waive the one-week waiting period to get employment insurance if your job is cut because of the tariffs, and temporarily allow Canadian businesses to defer income tax and GST and HST payments to help boost their liquidity.