CALGARY, Alberta — The premiers of Alberta and Ontario have signed agreements to pursue construction of more rail lines and pipelines to tap into natural resources including Alberta oil and Ontario’s “Ring of Fire” mineral region.
At a Monday press conference in Calgary, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Ontario’s Doug Ford announced the signing of two memoranda of understanding as part of an effort to make Canada less reliant on the United States in the wake of President Donald Trump’s continued use and threats of tariffs against trade partners.
“The best way to protect Canadian workers from tariffs and economic uncertainty is to build the infrastructure that will get our resources to new markets,” Ford said in a social media post.
One memorandum calls for “development of rail infrastructure to support the subsequent phases of the Ring of Fire, including all critical mineral mining projects and the infrastructure needed to support them, as well as processing and refining capacity needed for an end-to-end Canadian critical minerals supply chain, including access to western Canadian ports.” It also calls for cross-country pipelines to deliver Alberta oil to Ontario and other ports and refineries, and a feasibility study to boost private-sector investment in such projects.
The second memorandum includes an Alberta commitment to purchase Canadian-made vehicles for government fleets to support Ontario’s auto industry.
“These MOUs are about building pipelines and boosting trade that connect Canadian energy and products to the world, while advocating for the right conditions to get it done,” Smith said in a press release. “Government must get out of the way, partner with industry and support the projects this country needs to grow.”
The Ring of Fire region, in Ontario’s far north, includes reserves of chromite, cobalt, nickel, copper, and platinum. Ontario is seeking to develop year-round road access into the region. An automated 338-kilometer (210-mile) rail line has also been proposed to move chromite from the region to a processing or transfer facility on an existing Canadian National line near Nakina, Ontario.
