Thank you for giving me so much time.

As someone who likes to talk, I do appreciate that. I'm a Montreal Canadiens fan too. I'll throw that in as well.

I think the conversation really goes around where the energy is. Really, I think one thing that COVID has taught us—and we're still not there yet—is the importance of food security. I've said that already, but it's so critically important. It's so critically important for us to look beyond being price-takers and price-givers. The fact is that we can look to immigrants to be the source of ideas, the passion and the energy that can drive the opportunities.

Really, I think what comes with that is a conversation that is tied to “happy wife, happy life”. I cannot move to a place unless my wife is happy. For some of you folks, your spouse or your partner needs to be happy. It's not just a place. It needs to be a thing. It needs to have all of those services.

Really, when you start looking at education, opportunity and broadband at the same time, looking to the fact that you can actually be educated in any part of the world on any topic, the fact is that you can still live in a beautiful, welcoming community that's quiet and where you can still hear birds chirping—although I do know that there are birds in Montreal. The fact is, the lifestyle shift I think is attractive to immigrants too.

Again, I've met thousands of people in my life. You can tell someone who is “rural”. There are a lot of folks who want to go back to rural, and I am expecting that a lot of people will go back to rural in this change and shift in our population right now. I think rural Canada has been our past, I think it's our future and I think that if your immigration program concentrates on the fact that rural Canadians punch above their weight, you'll get the same immigration in those areas, with the same people with the energy, drive and ideas.

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