Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to stand here in the House of Commons. Congratulations on your success in becoming the Speaker. I paid close attention to your speech, and I look forward to your leadership as you shepherd us through the 45th Parliament.

When I was first elected in 2015, people asked me how long I planned on running for. I said it would be as long as I have the sense of awe when I walk into the House of Commons. I still have that sense of awe today as we sit here in West Block. Previously, in 2015, we were in Centre Block, which is undergoing a major rebuild. I am struck that I have had the opportunity to sit in both places. It has been truly an honour.

I did not get here today to make this speech without the support and help of so many volunteers and supporters in Sault Ste. Marie—Algoma. My riding is one of the new ridings after the electoral commission went through a process of reviewing what kind of seats should be in Canada.

At the time, the commission recommended getting rid of one of the seats in Northern Ontario, and that ended up being Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, which was held by Carol Hughes, who sat as assistant deputy speaker and who served the area quite well for 18 years. My riding got all of Algoma plus parts of Sudbury. At the time, I argued against the change because northern Ontario did not need one fewer voice. However, to that matter, I knew that I could represent the area very well.

My father was born in Blind River, Ontario, in 1929, in the new riding. My family made it to Blind River via the traditional Irish story. My father's grandfather came over on a boat during the famine; my great-grandfather travelled with his mother, father and brother. Crossing the ocean during the potato famine, the mother passed and was given a burial at sea. Then the father passed and was given a burial at sea, leaving the two young boys orphaned. The Québécois adopted my great-grandfather and allowed him to keep our name. That was on a farm in the Saguenay area. That was sort of our origin story.

Eventually my great-grandfather went out west, to where his brother had been adopted on another farm, in Saskatchewan. The family lost the farm because of hail and a number of other things. This was before insurance. My great-grandfather made his way to Blind River to manage a hotel and to stay there. It was great knocking on doors in that area in particular, because I could hear about a lot of the issues in Algoma east, which were similar to the new issues that I heard in Algoma north.

To drive my riding from tip to tip takes about eight hours. That is not unusual for many members of the House. However, when the change happened, David Akin from Global TV contacted me and said that my riding probably has some of the most significant changes related to geography and population, because we had over 100,000 electors. I think it was about 114,000. I had spent a long time working in that area, in business and economic development, skill development and apprenticeships, so I felt quite at home. It was my secondary home.

I just wanted to acknowledge that great area because I represented Sault Ste. Marie before, which had part of Algoma, but not that significant area. It was absolutely fantastic. The people were really impressed with the platform and the vision of the new leader of the Liberal Party, soon to be the Prime Minister. I heard again and again that the new Prime Minister had people's trust because of his ability to shepherd us through the new challenge.

I could not stand here making this speech without recognizing all the great volunteers who supported me. We did not have much infrastructure in Sault Ste. Marie—Algoma, but it was amazing. We made pleas on social media, and people came through our door. Many of them had volunteered on other political campaigns before. Many of them had never, ever, voted Liberal, but they came through the door because they saw how critically important this election was. Some people who came through the door had never, ever worked on any political campaign.

I was very touched that so many people volunteered, so I want to thank all of them, including the new volunteers from all over Sault Ste. Marie—Algoma. However, I would be remiss not to thank the people who have worked on all four of my campaigns. They have been there every time. It was absolutely amazing. One of the media pointed out that it was the first time Liberals had won four times in a row in that riding. It is always a horse race among all the political parties. I would not be standing here again without those volunteers. My heartfelt thanks goes out to them and to my supporters and donors. There were so many that I cannot name them all.

Within that group, some of my best volunteers were, of course, my family. As I mentioned during question period today, I am celebrating my 25th wedding anniversary with my wife, Lisa Bradford, whom I met many years ago. I was already in politics. In November, I will celebrate 28 years of local representation, which started with the school board and city council. There is an old saying that behind every great man and woman, there is a partner. In my case, my partner is not behind me but beside me, and I say chi meegwetch to her.

Before I go too far, I would like to also acknowledge that the land I am on right now is the traditional territory of the Algonquin. My wife and kids are members of the Batchewana First Nation. In my new area, there are also the Ojibwe and Cree first nations. I thank them for sharing their land with us, and I give thanks to all indigenous people across this great nation, including the Métis, for sharing their land with us.

As I went to the door in the new riding, the number one concern for people was, of course, the threat to our sovereignty, the constant badgering by the American administration about Canada's becoming the 51st state. It was amazing: I was knocking on doors in Elliot Lake, and senior citizens had some of the strongest words of opposition. Some of them used words that I cannot use in the House. They were standing up strong and hard because they built this country to be what it is today. The Prime Minister's words resonated very strongly with them about standing up to Donald Trump.

In my riding, there are two major steel operations: Algoma Steel, which is the second-largest steel producer in all of Canada, and Tenaris Algoma Tubes, which produces tubing for the oil and gas industry across Canada.

With threats of tariffs, I used to say that I had seen this movie before, but the reality of the new American administration is a movie I have never seen before. It is something that is beyond belief, beyond comprehension, with the continual up and down. We can hear another announcement from the American administration, and by the end of the day, it has changed. The reality of that unsteadiness has created a lot of angst, and rightly so. In 2018, we did have tariffs, but we stood up with countermeasures. We supported workers.

That is why I was really pleased to see in the Speech from the Throne particular sections that deal with our relationship with the United States of America, which has always been a critical partner to us. We have always been friends. We always refer to each other as cousins. There have been misunderstandings before. Sometimes, because of the great size of their country, they do not really pay attention, and not just to Canada but to the rest of the world.

I remember one time when I was at Lake State, which is a university across the way where I studied poli sci and business, we came back across the border in my car. We were waiting in line at the border and we were taking a bit of time. My friends in the back said, “Would it not be great if we were just one big, great country?” I looked at them and said, “Yes, it would be great having one prime minister” and they said, “Say what?” We began that kind of conversation.

Again, given the Speech from the Throne, dealing with the United States in particular in a multitude of fashions is important. As we renegotiate CUSMA, it is critical that we have a Prime Minister with great business acumen who is known around the world and can sit straight across the table and deal with that administration.

However, to deal with that administration, we also need to diversify our economy, and that is why when the Prime Minister talks about one economy, it resonates so much with me and the constituents across my great riding. We all know in this House that we are a Confederation of 10 provinces and three territories, and it is strange, especially for me, having worked in business, economic development and skills development, that it is difficult for people to do business with each other within Canada. Tearing down these barriers and having what was referred to today in question period as a love-in, with people like Premier Ford saying it was the best meeting he has seen in 10 years, are critically important.

The fact that we are working together sends a signal to our American friends that we can be dependent upon each other. If we tear down those barriers, $200 billion will be added to our economy. However, when I think about that, it is not just about that $200 billion. Over the last few years, I have been co-chair of the Canada-Japan Inter-Parliamentary Group. Japan is the third-greatest foreign direct investor in Canada, and when we tear down those barriers, it makes it easier for other countries to do business with us, as we can locate plants anywhere, in particular in Sault Ste. Marie—Algoma, which is really central in Canada. It could be a logistical hub. There are great opportunities.

This ambitious Speech from the Throne, which King Charles III delivered so eloquently, also identifies a mountain of opportunities related to growing our economy and working together as the sovereign state that we are. With King Charles III here, it definitely demonstrated that we are different from the United States. We are a Confederation. We are a mosaic of people. We expect people to keep their identities throughout Canada, just as my family did in Quebec. In the United States, they expect people to melt into the pot, and that is so different. The Canadian economy, that one economy, is absolutely critical. We have so much potential to deal with such important things.

As it relates to Sault Ste. Marie—Algoma, we are also a border community. A lot of trade comes across the way, so building up our infrastructure is absolutely critical. Ports, rail, roads and corridors for trade are so important because that stuff can absolutely be funnelled into the United States once we get back to our relationship. That makes so much sense, because we cannot deny that the United States is always going to be a factor as a trading partner.

I sit on the trade committee, and a lot of stuff is continually going north-south, but we have to secure our borders. We have to secure our borders in a way that makes sense.

We know for a fact that we are not the problem as it relates to the United States' issue with fentanyl. Using its own data, we know we are less than 1%. However, today we introduced the strong borders act, which is going to make Canada even stronger. That is critically important.

Being on a border town, I know for a fact that drugs are coming from the United States into Canada and illegal guns are coming through. In the Speech from the Throne, the King talked about investing in the RCMP and having 1,000 new RCMP officers. It is absolutely critical for us to make sure that we keep the bad people and the bad stuff out of this country.

This is after 10 years of cuts by the previous government. We know that almost $1 billion was cut from both the RCMP and the Canada Border Services Agency. We have already rehired, but we are going to go further on that. We are looking forward to that in Sault Ste. Marie, to make sure that we keep investing to keep our streets safe. The act goes further into a multitude of things.

As we are talking about safety and safety issues, the Speech from the Throne also talked about how we are going to rebuild our military. The Canadian Armed Forces is absolutely critical. My college roommate, one of my best friends, Captain Donald McFarling, served two terms in Afghanistan. He is currently a professor at the Royal Military College. We thank all the men and women who have served our country, who have protected our country from threats and who have policed areas in peacekeeping missions.

As I mentioned, I am now serving Algoma, the place where Lester B. Pearson served. He served that area so well. Everything in Elliot Lake is named after Lester B. Pearson. He was a great prime minister, always one of my favourites, and it is truly an honour to serve where he did.

We are rebuilding the military for the right reasons: so that we are less reliant on the United States. As we rebuild and refurbish our military, it will be good for Sault Ste. Marie—Algoma because Algoma Steel makes armour-grade plate. In fact, it is the only place in Canada that makes armour-grade plate of its significance. This steel will be used in the shipbuilding program and in rebuilding our armoured vehicles. It is so important because it is the right thing to do, and it is also going to help create jobs in Sault Ste. Marie—Algoma.

This is an ambitious plan that the premiers and the Prime Minister talked about in Saskatchewan. My grandfather worked on a farm. It is so important that we have the ability to work together. When we build, we are creating jobs upstream and downstream in the supply chains. Getting our resources to tidal waters is tremendously important for businesses like Tenaris. We and Algoma Steel also know that building bridges is good because they are going to use steel.

Our housing plan, which was referenced in the speech, is also important. Doubling our housing is going to mean using Canadian wood, which will receive some preferential treatment. There are places throughout northern Ontario with mills, including in White River, where a mill was shuttered when Stephen Harper was prime minister. It reopened recently in partnership with first nations in the area, including Pic Mobert, and is now working.

I am making the point that wood, steel and aluminum are all critically important for the most ambitious building project we have seen. How do we deal with the American administration? We fight, we protect and we build. Those are important things that we have to do. In doing so, we are not just creating jobs in steel, wood and aluminum; we are also creating jobs for our workers.

As I mentioned, I used to be the apprenticeship guy in the Algoma region. I was pleased to see that we are supporting the growth of apprenticeships by covering the costs of apprentices with an up to $8,000 grant. That is tremendously important because there are costs associated—

Terry Sheehan

$460,641.00