March 27, 2026
The Empire Club of Canada Presents
Connecting Canada The Trade Infrastructure Strategy to Power Canada’s Economic Future
Chairman: Saurabh Popat, President, Board of Directors, Empire Club of Canada
Moderator
Tim Murphy, Executive Vice President & Chief Strategic Affairs Officer, Aecon
Distinguished Guest Speaker
The Honourable Steve MacKinnon, Transport Minister of Canada
Head Table Guests
Deborah Flint, President & CEO, Toronto Pearson Airport
RJ Steenstra, President & CEO, Toronto Port Authority
Welcome Address by Saurabh Popat, President, Board of Directors, Empire Club of Canada
Bonjour, tout le monde. Good afternoon, everyone. I’m Saurabh Popat, Chair of the Board here at the Empire Club of Canada, and your host for today’s event.
To formally begin, I’d like to acknowledge that we are gathering on the Traditional and Treaty Lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit, and the homelands of the Anishinaabe, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat Peoples. I encourage you all to learn more about the Traditional Territory on which you work and live.
Now, today’s event would not be possible without the generous support of our incredible sponsors. The Empire Club is a non-profit organization, and our sponsors generously support the club, and make these events possible and complimentary for our online viewers to attend. So, please join me in thanking our Lead Sponsors, the Toronto Port Authority, and Toronto Pearson Airport. Thank you. Thank you to our VIP Reception Sponsors, AtkinsRéalis, Alto, and Turkish Airlines. Thank you. And we also deeply appreciate the ongoing support of our Lead Season Sponsors, Bruce Power, Hydro One, and National Bank Capital of Markets, and our VIP Reception Season Sponsors, Ellis Don, McKinsey & Company, the Ontario Road Builders Association, and Waste Connections of Canada. Thank you all. And finally, thank you to our Media Partner, the Toronto Star, and our AV Partner, Bespoke Audio Visual.
If you have questions for our speakers, please scan the QR code found on your program, or through the Q&A function, if you’re online. For those of you online, if you require technical assistance, please use the chat feature.
Now, we often take our modes of transportation for granted without really thinking of the thousands of highly trained professionals who keep us safe when we are flying, taking the train, ferrying our great waters, or maintaining our roads for safe passage. The incident earlier this week that took the lives of the two Air Canada pilots is truly a Canadian tragedy. And I’d like to first of all ask all of us here today to take a minute to remember them, and all of those who are working hard across our transportation sector. Please, take a moment. [Moment of Silence]. Merci beaucoup. Thank you.
Now, Canada’s transportation needs and their connection to productivity, trade, and sovereignty are what brings us here today. This has been a topic of discussion here at the Empire Club for actually more than a hundred years. In fact, in 1930, the president of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce at the time expressed confidence that Canada was the great highway of the world. He told our members here that Canadians, that Canadians represent the traffic of nations, and the traffic of nations must inevitably pass through our country. He saw Canada as central to the global economy, and was confident, despite the challenges of the time, that we would weather the storm.
Now, we may have a vast and daunting geography, but it’s our people, it’s our technology, our innovation, and our culture that binds us together from coast-to-coast-to-coast. Our transportation journey has always been part of the Canadian story. Even today, where trade and sovereignty challenges are shaping many of our policies and politics, the opportunity before us to modernize our ports, air and rail networks, to help move people, goods, and trade more efficiently, more reliably, and more sustainably, will contribute to our growth, productivity, and sovereignty. That is why we are so very pleased that Minister MacKinnon is joining us here today, to discuss how our country is responding to the current challenges, including competitive supply chains, our ports as strategic gateways, and how these and other innovations in our transportation ecosystem will help us accelerate our exports, and forge prosperous trading relationships to markets beyond the US, and help build a stronger Canada.
Before we formally begin, I want to acknowledge our Lead Sponsor. It’s my great pleasure to invite Deborah Flint, president and CEO of the Toronto Pearson Airport to the stage.
Opening Remarks by Deborah Flint, President & CEO, Toronto Pearson Airport
Good afternoon, and thank you to the Empire Club for having important conversations like this today. And it’s a pleasure to see all of you here gathered, as well. Of course, a great pleasure to welcome the Honourable Steve MacKinnon, Canada’s transport minister, as our keynote speaker, as well, today.
You know, Canada is the second largest country worldwide by land mass. And travel across our country’s splendour is essential. But with a population of over 40 million people, connectivity to the world is even more critical, especially in times like this. We can, though, take pride in the fact that air connectivity for Canada has been smartly planned. And it outperforms countries of equal population, and even smaller geography. For Pearson alone, with a record over 200 destinations that connect Canada to the majority of the world’s economy, that includes 53 airlines, and over 47 million passengers, and also moves 45% of the country’s cargo across the country.
You know, it is important, now more than ever, that we have a strong air transportation system, because that is the key to engaging reliably with new trading partners across the world. It’s important to the new economy that air travel, cargo, supply chain movement are strengths of this country. And so, in air travel, volume, connectivity, and scale are the ingredients to each of us, whether it’s for our business movements, for the movement of cargo, to have both choice and for affordability. And scale is essential, especially as investments like at airports are large investments, and they have to adapt quickly, and be resilient economically, as geopolitics and other factors cause us to adapt quickly and abruptly. It’s also essential for us to be competitive. Our nearby competitors in the United States have in flight or actually completing $45 billion of infrastructure modernization, and there’s another $45 billion of airport infrastructure modernization planned, even as we speak.
But there’s good news. The good news is that Pearson sits on land that is the size of many of the world’s largest airports. And there’s room for Pearson to grow today, as well as tomorrow. And that is what we can be confident about, that Canada can assuredly rest and retain its level of connectivity to the world, and even in the future, increase it. And Pearson understands its role in ensuring that it can step into this new economy, and enable that level of connectivity. But like our competitors in the US, we are also embarking on a capital expansion program that we call Pearson LIFT. And we’re excited that after working with so many of you for the past several years, that we will have our first groundbreakings of many groundbreakings this summer. And our ambition, we’re on track to ensure that growth will never be curtailed. We’ll continue to meet the needs of Canada.
We’re very thankful for the federal government as a primary and supportive partner to Toronto Pearson. Thank you, Minister MacKinnon, for your continued recognition of the importance of Canada’s aviation sector, airports of all varying sizes and locations all across this country. Canadian airports, we work collaboratively together, and we are enabled by a strong collective leadership through the Canadian Airport Council to be aligned on vision, on investment, and on growth. And we are all collectively doing that together.
Mr. MacKinnon, thank you also for being a voice for innovation in transportation. We know that our program, LIFT, will deliver the future of the physical and digital airport of the future, embedding robotics, automation, and advanced digital tools to enable a safe, smart, and integrated airport system. And we know that that integration holds a lot of promise for the future of travel to be efficient, affordable, adaptable, and even to put the joy back into travel for passengers. It is indeed such an exciting time for our country, and we’re going to hear about that from the minister shortly. It’s inspiring, after many, many different eras that we’ve all been through, to be in this particular era. With this minister, and especially with our prime minister, it’s an era of think big, and also to do it. It’s an era of investment, and it’s also an era of fortitude for Canada’s economic prosperity and its resiliency.
So, it is indeed my pleasure to welcome the minister to the podium. We know that Minister MacKinnon, as the Transport Minister, is also the leader of the government in the House of Commons, and he has been MP for Gatineau, since 2015. Prior to entering parliament, he was a senior vice president at a global public affairs consultancy. But as importantly, he has done very big things, from international trade agreements to constitutional negotiations, major health, education, and election reforms. He has a wealth of experience and perspectives, and in the ecosystem of travel and transportation, that is needed now more than ever. And we are thankful for the perspectives that he will be bringing, and what he will share with us today. So, with no further ado, my pleasure to please welcome Minister MacKinnon to the stage.
The Honourable Steve MacKinnon, Transport Minister of Canada
Well, thank you so much, Deborah. It’s great to be here. And thank you, Saurabh, as well, for welcoming us today, and being here at the Empire Club. I want to recognize, of course, my fellow members of parliament, Karim Bardeesy, who is here, Chi Nguyen, who is here, we have Maggie Chi, we have Sima Acan, Judy Sgro, and Leslie Church. And all of you are amazing, amazing colleagues. And to the Empire Club, thank you for the work that you do, facilitating conversations that matter, bold conversations on important issues that affect us all. A little later, my friend Tim Murphy will join us, and I can assure you that conversation will be bold. And thanks in advance, Tim, for doing that.
I want to first, of course, express my profound sadness, and that of the entire government. And I’m sure all of you, following Monday’s accident at LaGuardia Airport, involving an Air Canada Express aircraft, and on behalf of the government of Canada, I want to extend my deepest condolences to the victims’ families and loved ones, the injured and their families, and everyone concerned. The remains were repatriated to Canada yesterday. And that is an extremely emotional moment. And I know that it took all of us with shock and surprise, when we woke up to that news on Monday. [Remarks in French]. As the Minister of Transport, I can say that my department works hard to ensure that every employee, every single one in the transportation sector, gets home safely every night. And when that does not happen, we look for answers. I’ve spoken to my American counterpart, and Canadians arrived at LaGuardia, Canadian Transportation Safety Board officials, arrived on Monday to get to the bottom of this accident. And I can assure everyone that Canada is looking for answers. And when we get them, we will supply them to all concerned.
So today, friends, we face a pivotal moment in our nation’s history. We’re in a trade war. The United States has always been our closest neighbour, our friend, our ally, and our largest trading partner. But as Prime Minister Carney has said, there has been a rupture in the old world order, one that is reshaping how every country does business. And Canada can no longer rely so heavily on any single country or market. And that’s why he’s challenged us to double Canada’s non-US exports. That is also why, over the past months, he’s been in Asia, Australia, Europe, and the Middle East advancing Canada’s economic interests, and opening new doors for Canadian companies. And here is the good news. They want to trade with us. They want to invest in Canada. They want to do business here because Canada has what the world needs. We have skilled, trained people. We have capital, strong pension funds, stable, predictable financial institutions. We have natural resources. We have innovation. And we have a proven willingness to take smart, responsible risks. And in a world hungry for secure, democratic energy, food, and materials, that means we don’t just have economic assets; we have strategic ones. Canada has everything it needs to succeed in this new global economy. But none of that matters if we can’t move our goods efficiently, reliably, and affordably—and yes, Deborah, people, as well. That’s why transportation matters so much right now. Because our economic sovereignty depends on transportation systems that work—ports, rail, roads, airports, and logistic hubs—and on the skilled workers who keep them running. When these systems break down, Toronto businesses feel it immediately.
So, today I want to do two things. First, outline how Canada is responding, and how we plan to build the trade infrastructure of the future. And second, explain why places like Toronto, and the businesses and workers here, matter so much to Canada’s economic future. So, when I say trade infrastructure, I don’t just mean physical construction, pouring concrete, or laying down tracks. I’m talking about making sure the entire system works smoothly, as one seamless and effective unit from end to end. With extreme weather events and labour disruptions ripple through balance sheets and workforces, when logistics costs spike. Reducing these friction points, these bottlenecks, isn’t some abstract policy goal. It’s the necessity, a necessity to keep us in the game.
The GTA is, obviously, one of the key engines of Canada’s trade. In fact, it is the largest single contributor to our country’s economy, producing 20% of Canada’s GDP. You are the centre of Canada’s financial industry, housing the headquarters of all five of Canada’s largest banks. Plus, the TSX is the third largest in the Americas by market capitalization, and a global leader, maybe even the global leader for mining, and oil and gas, facilitating massive capital investment for trade. The GTA is the main hub in the central corridor between Ontario and Southern Québec, as well as a major manufacturing centre, producing more than half of Canada’s manufactured goods. The region is also the primary wholesale and distribution hub for the country, linking major 400-series highways and CN/CPKC operations through Toronto and Hamilton’s intermodal yards. Then there’s Pearson International, Canada’s busiest airport for both passenger traffic and cargo operations. And not to forget as well, the Billy Bishop Airport, a little bit topical, where we just announced last week the opening of a new pre-clearance facility, which will help create good jobs, facilitate trade with international partners, and bring more prosperity to the region, and to the country.
Now, again, there’s been a lot of talk about that lately. And the first issue, for obvious reasons, is safety, which is a priority for us, and needs to be addressed. School buses circulate on that runway. The runway itself has been deemed inadequate, and must be lengthened. These issues must be addressed in the short term. The very existence of that facility has been debated. Let’s take that off the table. Billy Bishop is here, and here to stay. Now, that airport has come a long way. It is a good neighbour, a modern tunnel provides access, shuttles transport people to work and to hotels. Air ambulances rely on the airport to get critical medical cases to Toronto’s world-class care. Billy Bishop plays a key role in making our regions more connected, linking Toronto more efficiently with other cities and economic hubs, particularly in the North, and makes it easier for people and businesses to move across the region. Billy Bishop Airport is a valuable asset that is appreciated by the public, especially as Pearson is very busy, and in this FIFA year, of all years, we are going to continue to see growth at both of this region’s airports.
So, with our partners in the Tripartite Agreement—we have yet to meet them, but we need to seriously consider how conditions have changed, and how we can bring increased economic and passenger benefits to Toronto and to Canada. That includes creating opportunities for modern, quieter, small, cleaner, and in many cases, Canadian aircraft technologies and models. So, I’ll continue to work with my colleagues with the Province, and with all Torontonians to consult, to take a long look at, and talk about the path forward for this critical infrastructure. The government’s commitment remains to build strong and efficient airports, and to support their long-term success. This airport—[Applause] yep, thank you—this airport demonstrates how incorporating private investments can be successful, and moreover, it underscores the potential of leveraging private sector participation, while maintaining public oversight. We will also be exploring more ways to leverage private investment at many of Canada’s airports. So, I’ll continue to work with my colleagues with the provinces, and with all the residents of the GTA, to take a long look at and consult on the path forward on all of the city’s critical air infrastructure. It’s so exciting to see the plans at Pearson, so exciting to have renewed discussions on the future of Billy Bishop, and we’ll be signed up for all of those things.
Now, another project coming very soon is High Speed Rail, which we’ll add—[Applause] yes, absolutely. It will add yet another strong link to the cities along this corridor, and I’ll come back to Alto, in a moment. Now, I could go on, but let me just cut to the chase, and perhaps to the heart of what I wanna talk about today. None of these things operate in a vacuum. What happens here matters nationally, and has a real impact on Canada’s global standing as a reliable trading partner. So, how do we, as a country, respond to this new era of uncertainty? As the Prime Minister said, and as I mentioned, we deepen our partnerships with countries elsewhere, in Europe, in South America, in Asia, and with trusted allies around the world. If we meet his challenge, it would generate $300 billion more in additional trade for our country. But diversification requires capacity. We cannot double non-US exports without modern corridors, stronger gateways, better intermodal connections, and regulatory systems that move at the speed of business. And that is what I mean by the infrastructure of the future. Because today’s transportation policy has become economic policy.
So, our plan rests on four core priorities. Our first priority is economic competitiveness. Canada is open for business, and we are investing at scale to prove it. We’re investing $5 billion over seven years through the Trade Diversification Corridors Fund, and another billion dollars through the Arctic Infrastructure Fund. And just to pause on that, the Prime Minister just last week announced the first roadway to the Arctic Ocean, and we’re going to get building that this very year. So, we should all be very proud of that.
Now, this will allow us to build and modernize trade-enabling transportation infrastructure across the country. We already have a major port expansion underway in Montreal, and we recently opened another one in St. John, New Brunswick. All of these are outlets for Toronto goods, for Ontario merchandise, for Ontario farmers, and they help expand our ability to trade with the world. And as Minister of Transport, I have the privilege and responsibility of working directly with communities, just communities like the ones around this urban area, to make it real. That means working with private companies, with provinces, territories, municipalities, with port authorities, airport operators, railway operators, trucking companies. With anyone, frankly, who wants to come to the table, and help us move the country forward.
We are going to make this country hum. We are going to build. And these investments are about improving supply chain efficiency, and creating new important export opportunities for Canadian shippers. They’re about modernizing gateways, and intermodal connections, and reducing the friction that slows down and drives cost up. But competitiveness is not only about building outward, it’s also about removing barriers internally. Let me show you what I mean. Each year, over $500 billion in goods and services moves across provincial and territorial borders, almost 17% of Canada’s GDP. Last year, one-third of Canadian businesses engaged in internal trade. Removing internal trade barriers could boost productivity by up to 7%. That could increase Canada’s annual GDP by about $200 billion. It is time that we, and frankly all Canadians, stop paying a made in Canada cost to simply move goods, services, and talent throughout and inside our own borders.
Now, my good friend and colleague, Dominic LeBlanc, is meeting with internal trade ministers again on Monday. And he, like he has done so well for so long, will be renewing Canada’s push. And I want to commend the Government of Ontario for its incredible leadership on this file. We need to do more. We need to go faster. And if you have a big job to do, Dominic LeBlanc is the guy to do it.
Now, our second priority is labour stability. Our country’s transportation sector has experienced 16 significant labor disruptions, since 2019. Sixteen. Remember the strike on the St. Lawrence Seaway, 2023. The strike by the longshoremen on the West Coast that same year that affected the entire country. The 2025 strike by Air Canada flight attendants. The double shutdown of CN and CPKC in 2024. That event alone cost Canada about $340 million per day. And unfortunately for me, I got to be the labour minister through much of that. But each of the others also hurt not just our performance, not just our bottom lines, but Canada’s reputation as a reliable trading partner. We simply cannot afford the risk of a shutdown in critical supply chains anymore. We can’t afford a reputation as an unpredictable place to do business. We need better processes for dispute resolution, special mediators, improved mobility and credential recognition, expanded training, job matching and reskilling, including support and safety measures for tens of thousands of workers. In short, we need a stable and predictable labour relations climate that works for everyone. For workers, operators, manufacturers, investors and shippers.
The third priority is digital trade. For too often, goods that flow through major Canadian hubs like Toronto are still navigating paper-based documentation. Customs forms, bills of lading, certificates, and they proceed sequentially by multiple authorities. In some cases, that paperwork adds days, days to clearance times. It creates uncertainty. It increase costs, and it ties up working capital. Meanwhile, our competitors, places like Singapore, South Korea, the Netherlands, and Australia, have nearly fully digitized end-to-end trade systems. Export documentation is submitted once. It moves in parallel, and goods clear ports and borders in hours, not days. In a world where supply chains are strategic assets and trade moves quickly, speed is power. In the 2000s, Canada was a leader in digitizing customs processes, but investments were not sustained. We are now behind European and Asian trading partners in digitalization.
And when I say behind, I don’t mean just barely. Take, for example, our partners in APEC, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Zone, countries like New Zealand, Korea, Australia, and the United States, and Japan. In fact, when it comes to what’s known as the Trade Digitalization Index, we are officially below the APEC average. Canada has an opportunity to regain a competitive advantage, to leapfrog all of those countries with more efficient and integrated paperless trade and logistics systems. If we do all of this, then we could unlock a hundred billion more dollars in economic opportunity.
Which brings me to my fourth priority, regulatory modernization. Simply put, cut on the bureaucracy, and make building easier. Making it easier for Canadian businesses to build, invest, operate, innovate and expand, all without compromising on quality or safety. And of course, while never ever lowering our safety standards. We need processes that move in parallel, not in sequence. We recently created the major projects office to be a single front door for transformative projects, including many that I mentioned, alongside new tools to scale housing and industrial capacity. We want to change the way government works, so critical trade, energy, and industrial projects can move from proposal to decision in years, even months, not decades.
Here in Ontario, a couple of projects have already been referred to the MPO. The first is Canada Nickel’s Crawford Project, which aims to produce high quality, low carbon nickel, essential for batteries and green steel. The project, expected to attract $5 billion in investment, and create thousands of good-paying careers, will secure Canada’s place at the forefront of the clean economy. Closer to home, the Darlington New Nuclear Project will make us the first G7 country to have an operational Small Modular Reactor or SMR. It will provide clean power to 300,000 homes, and support 200 high-paying jobs, plus another 1600 during construction.
And finally, the project all Canadians should look forward to, Alto. Alto will add $35 billion to our gross domestic product. It will add 50,000 plus jobs. It will be Canada’s largest ever infrastructure project. It will spur economic growth, job growth, support Canadian businesses by prioritizing Canadian content, and encourage investment and strategic partnerships. The first segment will be built between Ottawa and Montréal. But that is just the first segment, the beginning of a network connecting communities across the country’s busiest and most populous corridor, 40% of Canada’s population. It represents a generational investment that can shape the Canadian economy for decades to come. And I’ll add that while it may be Canada’s first high speed rail system, there is no reason to believe it will be the only one. I’m not making promises, obviously. But I’m looking at you, Calgary and Edmonton. I’m looking at you, Windsor.
[Remarks in French]. We’re here to build a strong Toronto. A strong Ontario. A strong Canada. Ready for what comes next. Merci beaucoup. Thank you.
Saurabh Popat
Merci beaucoup. Thank you, Minister MacKinnon, for laying out that clear roadmap for our country’s trade future. The future, trade’s infrastructure, and the future, indeed looks bright. It’s now my great pleasure to welcome Tim Murphy to the stage, to lead our fireside chat. Tim is the Executive Vice President and Chief Strategic Affairs Officer at AECON Group, Incorporated. He has over three decades of experience in law and public service, and has also served as Chief of Staff to both the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister of Canada. He joins us today to lead our discussion on our country’s trade infrastructure. Tim, stage is yours.
Tim Murphy, Executive Vice President & Chief Strategic Affairs Officer, Aecon
Minister, I have a iPad here, which allows me to ask audience questions. So, you can input them in some magical way.
The Hon. Steve MacKinnon
Is that a digitalized trade system?
Tim Murphy
It is, yeah. It’s operating in sequence, though, unfortunately.
The Hon. Steve MacKinnon
I see Ali Assadi’s here, by the way, who was not on the list that I had of MPs that would be here. Ali, MP for Willowdale. It’s great to see you, yep.
Tim Murphy
So, I wanna actually start with a more personal question or two.
The Hon. Steve MacKinnon
Yep.
Tim Murphy
And then we’ll go into policy.
The Hon. Steve MacKinnon
I know what you’re thinking. You and I have known each other for 25 years.
Tim Murphy
For 25 years.
The Hon. Steve MacKinnon
Did you ever think you, no?
Tim Murphy
No. No. No, it’s, you know, it’s, yeah. I’m probably more surprised than your family. But I do wanna actually ask you about life and politics. I mean, you’ve been around it for a long time. But it’s, you know, from the outside, it looks like a more polarized environment, you know, social media, 24 hour news cycle, not a lot of room for, you know, understanding the people behind the politicians and the politics. What’s it like being a politician these days?
The Hon. Steve MacKinnon
Well, I think that’s why we value, okay, opportunities like this, frankly, to show, not just me, but I have a number of colleagues in the room, to show that you’re a human being. You know, you put your pants on in the morning, one leg at a time, like everyone else. Worry about the same things. Worry about your kids. Worry about the future of the country. Wanna leave at a better place than you found it. Politics has become, you know, as religions have perhaps, at least attendance at religious services has declined, and many other things that, you know, we came to know in the past. Politics has to bear too much now. It’s become people’s, too big a part of people’s identities. And we have to, I think, get away from that. Not everything is partisan. Not everything is political. Some things are just simple common sense, and I think the more we talk in simple common sense terms, the better we are.
Tim Murphy
How much fun do you have defending the government in the House of Commons, though?
The Hon. Steve MacKinnon
A lot.
Tim Murphy
It looks like you have fun.
The Hon. Steve MacKinnon
Yeah. I’m privileged to be the government house leader and the minister of transport. We have such great colleagues, many of whom you will have seen answering questions, and defending bills, and so on, giving speeches in the House of Commons, all of whom, everyone who is here, occupies some very important functions. And Toronto punches above its weight in our caucus, and in the House of Commons. But we, I think, look like a team. And that’s a tribute to the Prime Minister. And as you know, you’ve played team sports, when you have a team, you’re confident in your captain, you’re confident in your coach, you’re confident in your game plan, that shows.
Tim Murphy
Yeah.
The Hon. Steve MacKinnon
And so, it makes the job of the government house leader really easy.
Tim Murphy
So, let me ask you a question about, you know, there are lots of members of the business community here in Toronto. And I would say, you know, the government you were a member of before wasn’t seen as business friendly, or open to business. And I think you, this, the new government, has, you know, I think, fixed a bunch of that, is much more open to is reaching out and consulting. I would say the one question that still lingers is how and where decisions get made, right? It’s, you know, we can get access to people, but I think the locus of decision-making is still a bit foggy. It feels like it’s pretty centralized. Is that right? Is that your experience? And just pretend there’s no media, and the Prime Minister isn’t listening.
The Hon. Steve MacKinnon
There’s one boss.
Tim Murphy
Yeah.
The Hon. Steve MacKinnon
That’s always been true. I remember when you were the chief-of-staff to a prime minister.
Tim Murphy
I was not the boss.
The Hon. Steve MacKinnon
Everyone thought you guys hoarded all the pieces.
Tim Murphy
Yes.
The Hon. Steve MacKinnon
I don’t know if you heard that back then.
Tim Murphy
Yeah, I did. “Who do you know in the PMO” was the slogan there.
The Hon. Steve MacKinnon
But I do want to say this. There’s something, there’s been something very liberating about being, having our backs pushed to the wall, of having the leader of another country want to annex us, of threatening a lot of things that Canadians hold extremely dear. And I know that I share with all of my colleagues in the Liberal Caucus, such intensity about wanting to get things done. But as I think you heard in my speech, urgency.
Tim Murphy
Yeah.
The Hon. Steve MacKinnon
And we’ve been really freed up to do that. So, you will see in department after department, and sector after sector, a lot of people in a hurry. And so, what I would say to those who care about a given subject, transport or any other, is we’re all ears. We are all ears. But we’re also moving.
Tim Murphy
Right.
The Hon. Steve MacKinnon
The train’s moving.
Tim Murphy
Yeah. So, let me ask you about Trump. You’ve laid out a pretty ambitious agenda, and I kind of agree with you that actually a lot of what the government wants to achieve actually runs through your ministry, interestingly enough. But you go back in the last five-ish years, we’ve had five transportation ministers. That kind of change at the top tends to mean….
The Hon. Steve MacKinnon
It tends to focus the mind, Tim.
Tim Murphy
Well, it also means the status quo gets reinforced inside the system.
The Hon. Steve MacKinnon
Yeah. I don’t think that’s true anymore.
Tim Murphy
Okay.
The Hon. Steve MacKinnon
Yeah.
Tim Murphy
You sticking around?
The Hon. Steve MacKinnon
I hope—well, I don’t decide that.
Tim Murphy
Yeah, I know. But….
The Hon. Steve MacKinnon
But we have big plans. I think you can look to the late spring for us to be talking about a lot of the things that I mentioned in the speech. We do have deep and structural problems in our transportation. I don’t, I hope no one missed that message.
Tim Murphy
Yeah.
The Hon. Steve MacKinnon
We’re not modern enough. We’re too bureaucratic. We haven’t invested enough in our infrastructure. Other countries find us unreliable. These are not good things. Not things I’m proud of. But things that have been allowed to fester, and that we urgently have to address.
Tim Murphy
So, let me dig into that a bit, because I agree with the proposition. So, you talked about the major projects office in your speech, and initially, I think it felt like that was gonna be the locus of a ton of decision-making for a lot of things, both where the private sector was gonna be a lead, and needed a regulatory speed-up, or some assistance, but also, potentially, major projects where the government was gonna be the lead. It’s not totally clear that’s the case. So, because, you know, from some ministers I’ve heard, major projects office is primarily a vehicle for attracting foreign investment into Canada around major projects. Is it so—but what you’re gonna be doing, for example, if you’re building, you know, trade routes, there’s not gonna be a ton of revenue attached to some of those new things, initially, that’s gonna allow the private sector to be major participants in an equity sense, initially, at least. So, does the MPO still play a role in those versus you? Where does the leadership in those projects reside in government?
The Hon. Steve MacKinnon
Well, I reject the premise that the private sector can’t play a role in major logistics enterprises…
Tim Murphy
Good.
The Hon. Steve MacKinnon
…and whether that’s airports, or ports, or inland, multimodal hubs, or Alto, for that matter. All of those feature vast private sector implication. Different, differently structured. But the MPO is primarily structured as a vehicle to facilitate private investment. And if you were picking off their lead sectors, resources, transportation, infrastructure, energy, all things that we’ve had difficulty building. We don’t have trouble permitting a new manufacturing facility, generally speaking. But we do have trouble permitting a mine. And so, Dawn Farrell and her team work with a group of us ministers to help move those things along. And we meet very regularly. We talk about—and every one is bespoke. Some of them have provincial involvement, some of them have particular regulatory issues. But the end objective of the MPO is to get all of this compressed to a maximum two year regulatory timetable for anything that would be designated under the impact assessment process. And everything that’s not, for example, that should, the transport minister should be able to approve a railway bridge, a spur line, a small or a smaller infrastructure investment, an airport, an airport facility. These—we have heavy, heavy, heavy processes now—these are going to be shortened.
Tim Murphy
And is that—so, all right. Going to be shortened. Like, what’s the mechanism for shortening?
The Hon. Steve MacKinnon
Well, we already passed Bill C-5.
Tim Murphy
Yeah.
The Hon. Steve MacKinnon
And I think we are working towards a world where these shorter timelines become de rigueur.
Tim Murphy
So, let me take, for example, diversifying trade away from the US, you know, which is the implication of diversification. And that’s gonna mean we’re gonna need port facilities that are just bigger than the ones we have. And obviously, Contra Current, St. John’s. But if you’re, you know, Vancouver port is probably not big enough, if you’re truly going to double your trade with other countries, the Vancouver port’s not big enough.
The Hon. Steve MacKinnon
Correct.
Tim Murphy
It needs to be significantly, maybe…
The Hon. Steve MacKinnon
That’s true.
Tim Murphy
…twice the size, to take that kind of—but we also don’t, if you’re gonna go east, you’re gonna need a port out of the centre of the country, potentially, for LNG, potash, minerals in the North.
The Hon. Steve MacKinnon
Bulk. Yep.
Tim Murphy
And so, Churchill wants to be that, maybe it’s Nelson—so, where do those sit in the ambition of the government? And because, for example, Churchill is one where I don’t think that proceeds, unless the government takes a massive initial role. Where do you sit on those channels for diversifying trade?
The Hon. Steve MacKinnon
Well, first, all of those things become conceivable. It is true, the West Coast, Prince Rupert, Vancouver primarily, are not large enough. We need more bulk capacity. We need more container capacity. And most importantly, we need to de-bottle neck the lower mainland, to make life better for the people who live there, and to get our goods to and from markets more quickly. With respect to LNG, we’re gonna be building more LNG. It’s that simple. Europe’s looking for it, Asia’s looking for it. Natural gas liquids too, propane. The other port innovation, if you will, that we’re looking at is on the Great Lakes. People here in Toronto and all throughout the Great Lakes region should be very interested in our interest in port of first arrival, putting CBSA folks, customs folks at a port past the locks, if you will, on the St. Lawrence, so that we can optimize the ports around here. We have great assets on the Great Lakes. We need to use them better. St. Lawrence Seaway is only used at 50% capacity. It opened this week, by the way, if you wanna put a boat down.
Tim Murphy
My old boss would have done that.
The Hon. Steve MacKinnon
Yes, yes. A great company, by the way. [Indiscernible] ship lines. And so, we have port investments to make. We have some aging infrastructure in the East. We have a capacity problem in Montréal, hence Contrecœur, and we’re going to continue to develop new business lines. What we don’t want is all of these places competing.
Tim Murphy
Right.
The Hon. Steve MacKinnon
And we’re not gonna build a port in the if you build it they will come spirit. We’re gonna build a port for real business needs.
Tim Murphy
Since we have two airports that are sponsors of this, I wanna ask you a question about what this phrase in budget 2025 could mean.
The Hon. Steve MacKinnon
Yep.
Tim Murphy
I think you know what’s coming.
The Hon. Steve MacKinnon
I do.
Tim Murphy
The government will also consider options for privatization of airports.
The Hon. Steve MacKinnon
M’hm (affirmative).
Tim Murphy
So, when and how?
The Hon. Steve MacKinnon
So, well let’s start with the basics. Canada has pools of capital, many of which are deployed in air infrastructure around the world, but not in Canada. So, I think our first and most basic question is why. And if that capital were to be deployed in Canada, how? What would be the model? What would be the structure? All of those are the things that we’re looking at now. Billy Bishop. Great example. Privately owned. So, we’re engaging in a process. We’ll be looking at all possibilities. And it won’t be a one-size-fits-all. Every airport’s different, has different financial structure, has different lease arrangements, has different volumes. So, each one will be bespoke, I think.
Tim Murphy
So, are you waiting—so should the private sector wait till you lay out a scheme for it, or should it be coming to you with their ideas?
The Hon. Steve MacKinnon
Well, if I know the financial sector, they will be thinking already about what they would say…
Tim Murphy
Yeah.
The Hon. Steve MacKinnon
…when someone knocks on their door.
Tim Murphy
Yep. I wanna ask a question about Alto, too. I mean, it’s, I think you’ve heard a good response to it. But it’s a long time before Toronto’s gonna see Alto. And I guess, one of the questions is, is there a way to hurry up…
The Hon. Steve MacKinnon
So, we have…
Tim Murphy
…the Toronto part of it?
The Hon. Steve MacKinnon
…so, we’ve all heard about high speed rail our whole lives. And you know, the Japanese started the bullet train in the ’70s. It’s an incredible technology. Arguably, Canada should have started its own bullet train in the ’70s. It didn’t. And we’ve not, we’ve chosen to not do it at several serious intervals over the past. We’re determined that that era is over. We have compressed—part of the reason, or part of the, part of making Alto real will be compressing that planning timeline, in our case, from eight to four years. We just passed yesterday the Budget Implementation Act, which does many wonderful things, but among other things puts a land acquisition model in place that permits that to happen. So, we wanna make Alto start construction in four years. That’ll become real for people. And get it to Toronto as quickly as possible. Now, it takes a few years to build. But let’s just remember the principles. I talked a bit about them, but a thousand kilometers, Montréal in three hours, 52,000 jobs in construction. And I think every Canadian would be proud to see a picture of a high-speed train entering Union Station.
Tim Murphy
If they could find the room. I’ve run out of time, but I have to ask one last question, which is the Gordie Howe Bridge.
The Hon. Steve MacKinnon
Yeah.
Tim Murphy
Now, I know it’s….
The Hon. Steve MacKinnon
You know anything about that?
Tim Murphy
I know a little bit about it. But there’s, I guess it’s actually officially under the Infrastructure Minister, but…
The Hon. Steve MacKinnon
It is.
Tim Murphy
…it’s an international bridge. You have all the other ones. So….
The Hon. Steve MacKinnon
Yeah.
Tim Murphy
And you know the President tweeted about it, and Canada is building up and paying for it.
The Hon. Steve MacKinnon
Yeah.
Tim Murphy
What’s the latest?
The Hon. Steve MacKinnon
Look, in 100 years, it will stand as a monument to the partnership and friendship of two great nations. In the short term, we want to schedule an official opening.
Tim Murphy
So do we. Thank you very much, Minister. It’s usually better with a Negroni, but this was okay.
The Hon. Steve MacKinnon
Absolutely. Thanks, Tim.
Tim Murphy
Thanks.
Saurabh Popat
Minister MacKinnon and Tim, thank you for that excellent, incredible discussion. We appreciate the insights and the practical perspectives you’ve brought to the conversation today. It’s exactly the kind of open dialogue that our country needs to move from analysis to action. Please join me, once again, in thanking them both. Thank you.
Before we conclude, I’d like to recognize our Lead Sponsor for closing remarks. We’re very grateful to the Toronto Port Authority for their support of today’s event, and for their commitment to strengthening our country’s economic future from this important hub. It’s my pleasure to invite their president and CEO, RJ Steenstra, to the podium.
Note of Appreciation by RJ Steenstra, President & CEO, Toronto Port Authority
Thank you very much, and good afternoon, everyone. On behalf of my team and board, we are so pleased to be here today as a co-sponsor with our colleagues at Pearson Airport. Minister MacKinnon, thank you for your thoughtful and engaging discussion. We truly appreciate the insights you’ve provided us today. As an organization that operates both the Port of Toronto and Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, we see firsthand the importance of partnership with Transport Canada in keeping people moving, and goods moving efficiently and reliably. I would also like to thank Tim for his skillful moderation. Your questions and steady guidance helped shape a conversation that was both dynamic and focused. No small feat, given the discussion spanning such a complex and vital sector in our country.
As we’ve heard today, transportation is far more than infrastructure. It is a cornerstone of Canada’s economic strength, and our resilience. Across aviation, marine, rail, and road, this sector connects communities, supports trade, enables tourism, and ensures Canadian businesses can compete on a global scale. In a country as vast and diverse as ours, that connectivity is absolutely essential. The work being done to strengthen and modernize our trade and transportation systems, like the recent opening of our US pre-clearance site, will help define the role and shape Canada’s long-term prosperity.
We’re incredibly proud to contribute to that effort as the Toronto Port Authority, and work alongside all of our partners at the airport and at the port who share that commitment. Thank you again, Minister MacKinnon, and thank you all for being a part of today’s conversation. We do look forward to continuing this very, very important dialogue. Thank you, sir.
Concluding Remarks by Saurabh Popat
Thank you again to our panellists, sponsors, and of course to all of you for joining us here today. I’d also like to take a moment to recognize the students and young leaders joining us today. Their presence is made possible through the charitable arm, the Empire Club Foundation, and the generosity of our donors. This support enables us to invite future leaders to take part in today’s dialogue, and to empower them to turn knowledge into leadership that shines in communities, boardrooms, and national conversations shaping Canada’s future.
To stay connected, please subscribe to our newsletter by scanning the QR code on your tables.
I also hope that you’ll join us for two exciting upcoming events. On April 24th, we welcome Minister MacKinnon’s colleague, the Honourable Tim Hodgson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources for “One Year of Nation Building.” He will reflect on his first year in office, and outline how the new major projects office, or MPO, is accelerating infrastructure and energy security across our country.
And on May 12th, join us for a second annual “State of the Airport,” featuring Toronto Pearson president and CEO Deborah Flint, whom you heard from earlier, as she outlines the airport’s next era of growth and transformation. From expanding infrastructure to strengthening the Pearson Economic Zone, this conversation will explore how Canada’s Gateway Airport is driving competitiveness and long-term prosperity across our country.
I’m also happy to announce that on June the 2nd, we’ll have our inaugural Empire Club golf tournament. Please visit our website for more information. I hope to see you all there. As always, as a club of record, all Empire Club events are available to watch and listen to on our website, and the recording of today’s event will be available shortly. Thank you all for being part of this important conversation. Go Jays go, opening season. This meeting is now adjourned.
