P.E.I. pitches 7 'nation-building' projects at first ministers' conference
Mark Carney ‘wants the provinces to be very ambitious,’ says P.E.I. Premier Rob Lantz
Prince Edward Island Premier Rob Lantz is pitching seven so-called "nation-building" projects at the first ministers' conference in Saskatoon on Monday.
Lantz is meeting in person with other provincial and territorial leaders and Prime Minister Mark Carney for the first time since the April 28 federal election.
Carney told CBC's Power & Politics last week that "major projects" are the top priority of the meeting. He described them as "nation-building projects" that will unite the country, diversify the economy, boost exports and move the economy forward. Each province was asked to bring a list of ideas.
At the top of Lantz's list is a regional project to increase electrical capacity on the Island.
"This concept that we're bringing forward here in Saskatoon would strengthen the transmission across Atlantic Canada, and connect the region to the national grid, open up regional generation opportunities," Lantz told CBC's Island Morning.
"It would trigger billions of dollars, not just in infrastructure investment, but also economic development opportunities. We're running up against capacity issues in Prince Edward Island, and it could be difficult to develop any large industrial or agricultural enterprises here in the province unless we really deal with our energy future and secure our energy future."
Power reliability has been a major topic this year on the Island after the City of Summerside, which operates its own utility, faced a series of power disruptions this winter.
Summerside Electric generates about 60 per cent of its electricity through renewable sources like solar and wind, but it still relies on Maritime Electric's transmission grid for power that the smaller utility buys from New Brunswick.
A failure at Maritime Electric's Sherbrooke substation, located just north of the city, led to significant power challenges in February. As a result, residents were asked to conserve electricity and a mobile transformer had to be brought in from Newfoundland to stabilize the system.
Lantz noted P.E.I. depends on New Brunswick for additional electricity, delivered through underwater cables. He said the province may need to look at other solutions — for example, another undersea cable to Nova Scotia — as part of the energy pitch.
Trade agreement with Ontario signed
Ahead of the first ministers' meeting, P.E.I. and Ontario signed a memorandum of understanding on Sunday to cut down on trade barriers and ease the flow of trade and labour between the provinces.
Lantz said it came together as a direct result of P.E.I.'s new Interprovincial Trade and Mobility Act.
"We're the second province in the country to pass [an] internal trade and labour mobility act in the legislature this spring, and so we are in a position to start making deals with other provinces. Ontario has been very active in that front," he said.
The memorandum says the two provinces agree on six points, including encouraging other provinces to join P.E.I. and Ontario in their agreement, looking for ways to align regulated professions, and creating a direct-to-consumer alcohol sales agreement, among other priorities.
The annual value of trade in goods and services between Ontario and P.E.I. is more than $1.5 billion, the P.E.I. government said in a release.
An external analysis by the Montreal Economic Institute suggests a deal like this between P.E.I. and Ontario could contribute $1.1 billion to the Canadian economy.
Other projects on list
In addition to the energy proposal, Lantz is pitching six other infrastructure projects.
One of them is building another road into West Prince. The issue has raised concerns in the past on the part of people like Tignish-Palmer Road Liberal MLA Hal Perry.
He has warned that since the region relies on a single road in and out, which is a stretch of Route 2 between Portage and West Devon, there could be big issues in the event of an emergency that closed the road.
Other proposed projects include developing a shipping port, expanding air cargo capacity at Charlottetown Airport, and establishing a year-round connection to Nova Scotia, potentially through a second bridge or winterized ferry. The premier is also calling for an expansion of three-phase power and improved cell service on the Island.
"The prime minister has been very vocal that he wants the provinces to be very ambitious on these projects," Lantz said. "So we're pitching everything we can... think of that would rise to that threshold of a nation-building project."
The regional energy initiative stands out among the seven proposals as it "approaches a nation building-threshold better than those other projects and [is] very much needed in the region," he said.
Lantz says he does not know how many — if any — of these projects will be approved or whether the province would have to pay a portion of the cost.
The province's financial capacity is already under pressure. A report by the auditor general in November flagged rising debt levels.
P.E.I.'s net debt increased by 26 per cent over the past decade, reaching $2.65 billion as of March 31, 2024. The most recent provincial budget projects a $183.9-million deficit, with the debt expected to climb to about $4.2 billion by March 31, 2028.
When asked whether P.E.I. can afford to invest in such large infrastructure, Lantz said: "We need to invest in order to grow."
With files from Island Morning